Celebrating Shiptember
by stripesthetiger11
Summary: Celebrate Shipping Pride Month with me as I go through the days of September with thirty days of ships. These will be in different AUs and pretty much all will be romantic.
1. Day 1 - OT3 (Undertale)

The setting was dim, the only light provided being the toned down lights above and the several candles placed strategically around the table. The warm, comforting air of the room was in such a stark contrast to the dark and cold of the outside world. Gentle laughs could be heard, shared over the dinner table as the two guests enjoyed each other's company for the first time in years. Their food was only half touched, for they found more interest in words shared than their well-cooked food.

Toriel, dressed in robes much more regal and elegant than she had in decades, couldn't help but enjoy the comfort and loving aura her former husband had brought to the table. She couldn't believe it herself, but she was enjoying being with her ex lover again. She was ashamed to admit it, but was also having too much of a good time to even express such an emotion. As for Asgore, he was also dressed in a rather formal outfit as well. He no longer wore his armor, for it seemed pointless now on the surface, where they could be happy in peace. As for his wellbeing, he was all smiles. He was glad to be in the company of the woman he loved once again, who no longer wanted nothing to do with him.

"I must say, Asgore," Toriel praised, "I am having such a wonderful time with you. Your cooking has definitely improved over the decades, and your house is just lovely. And here I thought you couldn't maintain it without me." Asgore couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Why thank you, Toriel," he rumbled. "It's all worth the effort to see you happy once again. Toriel only blushed from under her fur, turning away a bit. Flattery usually didn't work on her, but she was in such a good mood that she couldn't help but be swayed by his genuine words.

"But… there is something else I've wanted to talk to you about," Asgore sighed, immediately catching the other boss monster's attention. "Yes?" she asked softly, tilting her head. She feared she already knew what it was. "I just… want you to know that I still love you," he began. That was a given. Toriel opened her mouth to speak, but Asgore had more to say. "And I know I may not be… quite honorable in your memories, but I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, we could give it another shot. Just this one time. I want to reconcile out relationship."

The other monster was silent, a contemplative look donning her face, as if pondering how to answer. "Asgore, I-" "I understand if you refuse," Asgore said defeatedly as he lowered his head. "I… I will not bother you again with this if you do. After all I have done, you don't even need to speak to me again…"

"I want to," Toriel sighed. The male shot his head up with a slight turn of surprise, one of his bowed horns hooking one of the wine glasses and flinging it across the room by accident. "You do?" He had to be honest, he didn't even think he would get this far, much less have Toriel actually contemplate getting back together with him. She gave a nod. "Yes, I do, but… there's someone else."

Agore's eyes widened. "Someone else?" He whispered. "But who?" Who could possibly win over the heart of his fair queen?

Toriel looked down sadly, before going into her menu. She entered her inventory, pulling out something from slot six, just below the one empty pie tin and the four empty bottles of ketchup filling up the earlier slots. She held up a small skeleton in a blue jacket.

"It's Sans."

"Heya, As _goat_."

Asgore blinked, speechless. He stared at Sans for a long while before slowly looking up at Toriel. "You… brought him with you on our date?"

"He was going to be awfully lonely at home by herself," she sighed. "I just had to bring him."

"Heh, yeah, _kid_ do. Don't be so selfish." A small giggle came from Toriel. "That was a good one, Sans."

Asgore's jaw was practically on the floor. He just… didn't know what to say. What could he say to something like this. "Wait, so… he's the one you're seeing?" he asked, just flabbergasted by the situation. "Well… no," Toriel sighed. "I'm not actually seeing either of you, but… you bot are so very amazing to me." She slowly set Sans down, who walked over to Asgore with a grin. It was like watching a small beachball roll over to a large boulder. "Nice to see you, kingy."

Asgore blinked down at Sans before looking up at Toriel. "You… you can't be serious," he said. "With him?" Toriel just crossed her arms. "Well what's wrong with him?" Sans scoffed slightly. "Yeah, what's wrong with me?" Asgore slumped in his seat, letting out a sigh. "Well, for one, he's not royalty or a boss monster," Asgore pointed out. Toriel just gave a shrug. "And I'm not royalty, either," she huffed. "I relinquished my crown long ago, Asgore." Well, that was true. "But he's also about half your size," he pointed out. "Not even that. Maybe a good third of you."

Okay, he had her there. Sans had a big heart and a loving personality, but… he wasn't all that impressive when it came to bed. They worked through it, but it was kind of hard when he could easily die just by getting some game in bed. At least it was nice to carry him around from time to time under her arm like an object. It got her some really confused looks.

"Size does not matter, Asgore," she said firmly. Both men looked a bit doubtful, but Sans was at least giving her that thankful look.

"Well what can he give you that I can't?" the king demanded firmly, but also still having that bewildered expression. "He makes me happy," the former queen stated confidently, crossing her arms. "He was there for me when I most needed someone. He makes me laugh and feel appreciated for once." Asgore's mouth was agape. "I appreciated you, too! I always have! I appreciated you more than anyone! You were my wife; my beloved!"

"Then why didn't you do it while I was at the Ruins, if you were so persistent on appreciating me?" Toriel demanded. "Because you just weren't there. Sans was, and I love him because of that." "Want to know why I wasn't there? Well, for one fucking ran away," Asgore pointed out. "And there's also the fact that you never answer your god. Damn. Phone!"

"I told you a dog had stolen it!"

"Oh my GOD, Toriel, you've given that excuse at least fifty times already!"

"And they're all true!"

Asgore just looked unbelieving of the situation. So, he toned his voice down. "Tori…" he said softly. "We've been together for half a century. We built a kingdom from the Underground up, and I have never stopped loving you since. Tori… I love you. I always have."

Toriel could feel her soul melt some at this. It was true, Asgore had always been kind to her, and even when he decided to kill all humans that came down, he still cared for her feelings and loved her. She was the one who had left in the first place. It wasn't completely fair to blame him for their splitting up. Divorce was a two way street after all.

That's when Toriel felt something pulling at her arms. She blinked and looked down, seeing Sans with his phalanges wrapped tightly around her sleeve. "Hey, Tori," he murmured to her, a caring tone still very evident in his low voice. "Look… I'll understand if you still want to go back to him," he told her. "You two have been together n' whatnot for a while, even before you split. I just…. kinda thought we had something y'know?" He looked away for a moment. "I mean, why would you wanna date a weak skeleton like me anyways, amirite?" Toriel frowned at this, gripping his much smaller hand. "No no, don't say that," she comforted the discouraged skeleton. "You and I have had many a happy moments together, and I wouldn't trade them for the world." She thought back to the time they first met and the laughs he gave her. It made her smile.

"Toriel, you cannot split yourself between us," Asgore said softly, taking a step towards the pair. "And… if you're happier with him, I'm afraid I will just have to accept that." He gave a sigh. "However, I still demand an answer." Sans gave a nod of agreement, squeezing Toriel's hand gently. "He's right. You have to choose one of us, Tori. Who'll it be?"

The former queen of the Underground and of all monsters now had to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. She loved both monsters just as equally, and the two were always so kind to her and it was clear they loved her back. She had spent a good chunk of her life with Asgore, and yet it was Sans who was there when she needed someone the most. Sans was kind and made her laugh and feel loved, but Asgore knew her better than anyone else and shared her sentiments and even some of her feelings and pains, as they had both been through some of the most painful struggles. Asgore knew how to make her feel loved and adored and wanted, but Sans was cute and easy to pick up and carry around and care for and stick in her inventory like her own portable boyfriend. Sans for one made all her worries and responsibilities and her expectations and fears just melt down the drain for the first time in decades, but Asgore was pulling that serious dick game, though. Both were equally as amazing, and both made her feel just as loved. But… who to choose?

Sans and Asgore glanced over at each other nervously. Toriel was sure taking her sweet time with this. While both men would survive without her, they still sort of hoped Toriel would come to a sensible decision. They didn't hate each other or hold any grudges, but they still loved Toriel, and so it was a good reason as any to bump heads. Still, no anger would be shown, no matter who was chosen. They just wanted to be friends.

Finally, Toriel made her decision.

"I…. I've decided," she sighed. "I love you both very much, and because of this, I've come to a conclusion." Both monsters braced themselves for the impact.

"I'll date both of you."

Sans and Asgore blinked in surprise.

"What?" Asgore choked.

"What?" Sans babbled.

"What?" Toriel questioned.

Fuck, impact too strong. No one was fucking ready.

"What…. what do you mean the both of us?" Asgore probed, brow furrowed. Sans nodded rapidly in agreement, needing answers. Toriel looked puzzled at their own confusion. "I'm dating the both of you, of course," she clarified. "I both love you very much, so I'll date the both of you. It's a win-win-win situation."

Sans was absolutely speechless for a moment. "But… Tori, that's not how it works!"

"Of course it works," She giggled. "I just said it could."

"Toriel, you can't do this!" Asgore argued.

"Of course I can. I'm doing it right now."

"Tor, this doesn't even make sense!"

"It makes perfect sense."

"This is a horrible idea!"

"This is one of the best ideas I've ever had."

"I'm not even into men!"

"You say that now."

"Toriel, this is fucking polygamy!" Sans pointed out, following Toriel as she moved to the stairs, but stopping at the first step. Toriel just smirked down at him. "You call it polygamy. I call it a long-term threesome."

Both men stared, speechless.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be getting out of this dress," she sighed, going up the stairs. "I will be waiting for your arrival soon, boys." And with that, she topped the stairs and disappeared from view, leaving the two monsters with jaws dropped. Once they were sure she was gone, Sans slowly turned his skull to look at Asgore.

"Yo, your wife is into some freaky shit," he blurted out. Asgore could only nod in agreement. "Try being married to her."


	2. Day 2 - Asgoriel (Underfell)

Asgore was seated down in the dirt, eyes closed as he basked in the sunlight from his perch high up on the mountain. Only mere feet away from him was the entrance back into his once tomb, the Underground. He didn't bother looking back at it; thinking of such a trifle was no longer any use to him. Monsters had moved from their old home only months before, and unlike what he had expected, they were actually integrating quite nicely. Of course, there was the typical murders and obvious uproars and riots, but those were to be expected from his people. They had been trapped for so long, after all. Asgore had almost no time to himself during the long aftermath, and whenever he did, he preferred to spend them here, overlooking the forests around Mt. Ebott. It was peaceful and serene, a stark contrast to what he was used to as king of a rather agitated race of monsters. But now he had his moment of peace. He was alone.

Well… he _was_ alone, anyways.

Asgore felt one of his folded ears twitch slightly as he heard steps approaching his position on the path; slow and deliberate they were, but they didn't seem to be trying to hide from his senses. He turned his head slightly, expecting to see one of his lowly servants climbing up the dirt path to meekly give him some form of information. Instead, he saw a large white and black mass in his peripherals, just slightly smaller than him, from the looks of it. He recognized the monster immediately, turning his head back with a soft grumble of disapproval.

"Asgore."

"Toriel."

His once wife took a seat beside him, a slight smirk placed upon her face. "Up here once again, I see?" she sighed, folding her hands in her lap, the white contrasting starkly against the black and red colors of her robes. "Yes. Had I known you would have followed me, I would have gone elsewhere to meditate with my thoughts." Toriel couldn't help but give a little smile, though some would describe it as more of a satisfied smirk, a break in that regal composure she usually wore when amongst their subjects. Or, _his_ subjects, rather. "I suppose it's a good thing you didn't see me, then, hmm?" his lady hummed. Asgore looked over, keeping his expression stern. "What is it that you want, Toriel?" The female boss monster's smile fell. "What? I can't come to visit my dear Asgore? This is one of the only times I get to find you all alone, after all."

Asgore merely huffed at the response. "Why should I welcome a traitor within my presence?" he demanded. "Well, because of this traitor, we are all free," she responded, rather matter of factly.

"We would have gotten the same result had you minded your own business."

"Yes indeed, you may be right, but you would have ended up dead in the end, as well."

Asgore's glare hardened as he cast a stony look toward the former queen. "Come to gloat, is that it? Perhaps you should have brung the child, as well." Toriel gave a giggle, something clever clearly on her mind. "Well, as much as I'd like to _goat_ , I came here just to talk." Asgore couldn't help but give a small fit of pique at the comment in the form of a huff. How had he forgotten about her damnable puns? Decades had passed and yet here he was, still groaning at her simplest of jokes. "I see. Half a century passes and you're still the same monster you've always been," he sighed. "I'm surprised you're even near me at all."

That caused room for a bit of silence from the smaller monster. "Well, I suppose I just thought it was time we stop ignoring the issues between us." Asgore looked over, interest flashing in his eyes, though he looked back as he noticed the sun was beginning to set. His silence let Toriel continue. "We've both made mistakes leading to our parting. Since we now share the same child, I just… want to make amends."

This earned a small scoff from Asgore. "Oh? And since when were you the type to listen to a word I've said?" he sneered. "Oh please, you're no better," Toriel laughed, giving him a rather snarky expression. "So what? You've come to call me murderer?" Asgore assumed. "Make me feel ashamed of myself and berate me? Is that your way of 'making amends'?" Toriel's expression soured at the mention of her previous children. "I'd rather not dwell on that subject," she mumbled, turning away some to look at the slowly lowering sun. The male merely sneered at this. "Then if it's an apology you were seeking, you're not getting it. The deed is done and I'd gladly do it again if it means staying the way were are in this world." Toriel's sour expression now turned into a full on glare. "You will not speak of them here," she snapped. "Not in that tone and not in that way." She looked away. "If you must know, I'm more interested in the company than reminiscing over past mistakes."

"So, if it was company you wanted, why don't you go back to that skeleton you seem so fond of?" Asgore regretted that phrase the moment it left his mouth. Toriel looked back at him, a surprised look crossed over her face. "What was that?"Asgore looked away, momentarily cursing himself. He could already feel the sly smirk crossing his once beloved's face, but he could feel the hand quickly intertwining with the locks of his black beard and gripping tightly even more. With a sharp tug, his head was forced to face her's. "Is that jealously I detect?" Toriel giggled, a snarky grin passing over her muzzle. "Pah! As if," Asgore rumbled, attempting to pull his head away with little effort. "As if I could ever be jealous of a lowly sentry such as him."

Her expression grew cross, and the grin no longer remained. "Asshole," she spat.

"Bitch," he growled.

"Bastard."

"Whore."

"Fucker."

"Slut."

"Oh, I can't believe I've forgotten how much of a dick you are!" Toriel growled, pulling his beard harder. The other felt a grin pull at his lips at the sight of her. Sharpened teeth clamped shut, lips pulled back into a snarl, that same angry glare he remembered seeing so long ago; god, she certainly was a sight, wasn't she? Asgore only responded by looping an arm around her, the snarky grin now fully former across his own expression. "And I can't believe I've forgotten just how sexy you are when you're angry." Placing a hand flat on her chest, he forced her down on her back, but her grip on him only brought him down with her. "Shut the fuck up before I rip your dick off!" she snapped, tugging even harder in order to get him to stop talking. She was falling out of that regal and fair façade she loved to play for everyone. "Admit it, you've dreamt about this for only the last three decades," the male chuckled, only to be surprised by a blow to the stomach and a quick change in position, with him forced on his back and her straddling his waist with her hands engulfed in flamed, ready to set him alight. Asgore only laughed at this, bracing himself for any impact.

"So, I suppose this means you want me back?" he chuckled, taking a tight grasp of her wrists to try and hold her back if need be. "Oh you wish," Toriel growled, baring her sharp canines at him, though she obviously couldn't hide the smile across her muzzle. It had been so long since they'd had a little spat like this. "I would say it's the other way around." Asgore merely smirked, moving to place his large hands on her hips instead, only to be rewarded with a hard smack across the face, her claws leaving several long, deep scratches in his fur. He only shook with laughter once again. "Now I remember why I married you again," he chuckled, the grin not leaving his face as he raised a hand to feel the marks. "As regal and as fair as you may be, you can sure be a huge bitch sometimes." She merely rolled her eyes and grabbed his beard, forcing his head so close to the point their horns nearly made contact. "Just shut up and kiss me you fool," she breathed, which her husband was happy to comply with, leaning in close to celebrate their union for the first time in decades. He pulled away, though, looking up at her slyly.

"I thought you wanted to talk," he reminded with a devious expression. "I thought you said we still had issues." Toriel merely waved this off. "We've been wed for over half a century, Asgore," she told him with a giggle. "I'm not letting a few dead humans ruin that." She leaned down and closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against his. "I'd say that with how things have been going, you've earned my forgiveness."

"But we still have problems, do we not?" Asgore huffed, his voice lowering as the sun was disappearing behind the darkening trees. "Of course we do," Toriel confirmed. "But… we will address them later. Just…. Allow me to enjoy this moment with you. Please."

Asgore let a soft smile raise his lips, as he took in the beauty he had been missing for so long. He gently brought up a hand to cup her cheek, closing his eyes as well. That usual booming voice now turned into a soft rumble, something he would only allow his one and true wife to hear as his hand slowly cupped hers.

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too."

"Tori."

"Fluffybuns."


	3. Day 3 - BrattyCatty

Bratty and Catty usually weren't ones to admit defeat, and this wasn't an exception. Despite any hardships, they were always able to surpass them through their determination and their support of each other. Being a part of Hotland and parked right outside the Core just by Mettaton's resort, the girls were some of the first to see the rays of sunlight from aboveground. The two had been waiting their entire lives together for this moment, and they were more than prepared, mostly because the two didn't exactly have any furniture or decorations that needed to be moved out. It took a while for all the commotion and hubbub to settle down between the humans and monster, but once everything seemed in the clear, the Hotland pair purchased a small apartment together with the G they had saved up from their Underground shop. And now, despite the fact that it had only been a short while since their emergence, one thing was already clear to the two: living aboveground is one of the hardest things ever.

Things had been fairly promising at first. The humans had been surprisingly welcoming at first, and the world above was such a wonder to see. Breathing in fresh air, taking in the warm sunlight, and having just having the never-ending space of the entire world to roam were all greater than they had ever dreamed. Just interacting with some of the humans made them rethink their whole "eradicate humanity" stance.

However, things weren't so cheery after a good month in.

After the first thirty days, they came to the realization that rent was still a thing, even up aboveground. Still, it didn't bother them too much. They decided they needed to get a good source of income, and it was Bratty that came up with the brilliant idea to continue to run their little shop they once had in the Underground. It seemed like a pretty good idea at first, since everyone in the Underground had loved their very used wares. The humans had loads of good stuff they just threw away for no good reason; these things were even better than what they'd find scrounging in the dump. Of course, they got a few weird looks as they were dumpster diving, but they were sure they understood. So, with their wares ready, they set up a little stand in between Muffet's new shop and the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium.

As it turns out, humans weren't exactly interested in objects they themselves threw out, calling it all things like "trash" or "garbage". They were pretty steamed about it, but it did kind of make sense when they thought about it. Monsters were equally as unimpressed, to their great surprise, and after a good month of trying, they suffered from pretty much no sales at all, not to mention they smelled of garbage almost every day of their work. With the threat of being kicked out of their own apartment looming overhead, the two were kind of forced to get jobs. It was rough at first, but they soon got the hang of it and were able to earn a bit of money. Catty was a bit on the moaning and groaning side, but with Bratty there to support her, she knew she could bear through a simple nine to five.

And then came some of the rude humans.

As Catty learned the hard way, not all humans were nice and welcoming. Being the chattier of the two, it was more often that coworkers or just regular people nearby came up to her just to tell her to shut her trap. While it was just bizarre to her at first, after the next few times, it actually began to hurt a bit. And because she and Bratty worked separate jobs, it was weird for her bestest friend to not immediately come to her aid and rescue. There were also the name calling that had her a bit discouraged. Annoying, tubby, bratty, fat, bitchy, ratty, dumb ass, retard, plum; almost every negative word in the dictionary had been thrown at her, and it was a fairly new experience for the smaller cat monster. She was a bit of a cryer, but she tried not to let it it go that far. Bratty also received the same sort of attention, but Catty seemed to get the worst of it. Another month in, however, and it actually started to get to her.

Catty began to feel somewhat self-conscious of her looks. Without Bratty telling her how pretty she was 24/7, the negative comments had her squirming under staying gazes. She stopped liking what she saw in the mirror every day. She ate a bit less. She didn't talk as much around others. She stopped complaining. It took about a fifth of a second for Bratty to realize something was wrong, and immediately asked to know what was wrong. Of course, being friends since forever, Catty had no problem voicing her concerns to her BFF. Bratty was quick to shut that situation down, storming into her friend's workplace to tell off not just the workers, but the entire establishment, saying things such as they didn't know something valuable if it was slapped across their faces. Sure, it got Catty fired faster than the speed of light itself, but she didn't care; she was mega glad she had a friend as good as Bratty. Her friend even quit her own job to match. She promised her BFF that they were going to work together from now on, just like they always have. If people didn't like one or the other, they could either take it or leave it, because they weren't separating again.

It was soon a month later and the issue of a job was once again back on the table, and Catty was unsure of how to solve it. Bratty didn't fret, though, and formed a laundry list of jobs they could pick up. They began going down the line, from working at a clothing boutique to servicing at one of Mettaton's many catering businesses. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, they couldn't seem to land a job. They were either too unprofessional or the company refused to accept both at the same time.

Another month rolled around and they were struggling to pay rent. At this time, Alphys and Undyne were finally getting married, and because Alphys was almost like a sister to them, of course they went, even if they didn't have anything impressive to wear. They still had to support their friends after all. Despite this, Catty happened to notice how much slower Bratty seemed to be at the reception. She made sure to grab her friend's hand during this time, just to let her know she was there.

The next thirty days just seemed to fly by in an instant. Bills mounted and they had already received a notice and a deadline from their landlord. Some of the monsters had decided to hold a large picnic to celebrate their few months of freedom, and that young human, Frisk had personally invited the girls. They went because, hey, free food, and because of course they wanted to go to a picnic hosted by their friends. While this happened, Bratty was obviously a bit sleep deprived, despite her efforts to keep it hidden from everyone else. Three quarters into the banquet and she had already fallen asleep on Catty. The cat didn't mind, though, and held her hand the entire way though as she held her weight to support her best friend for life.

Another month passed, and as expected, they were forced out of their own home. While they were able to scrounge up a bit of money for some food, they still needed a place to live. Frisk ended up inviting them to bunk with their family until they got back on their feet. The two were eager to accept. And yet, despite their new home, it didn't stop Bratty from breaking into tears that night. Apologies and the recounting of all their stresses spewed from her as sobs wracked her thin frame. Catty didn't mind this, and encouraged that she let it all out to her, even crying with her in order to lighten the weight of the pain. Not much sleep was had that night, but the two had a lot to talk about. Catty promised her BFF that no matter the hardships, she was always going to be there for her, and nothing would ever deter her from that. Bratty couldn't help but tear up once again, promising the same to her. They shared their first kiss that night.

A month had passed once again, and the two were closer than ever. Toriel and Frisk didn't mind hosting them for so long, understanding their struggles and wanting to help in any way they could. Going about it another way, they decided to take tips from others. Toriel suggested to keep their morals in place and to not deter off the good path, and they would find success. Frisk told them to keep trying, no matter how difficult the task. Burgerpants just said to not stick with a dead-end job for the rest of their lives because they would so regret it. Sans advised that they invest in the fried snow business. Sans was ignored. Muffet, who now owned her own café, told them to focus on what they were good at, which was probably buying and selling material items. Grillby told them that they should start their own business, as then they could start fresh and by their own rules and standards.

Taking the advice of their friends, some of which was old and some new, they laid out their plan.

Three months passed this time and the girls were ready to move out. They finally found jobs working with friends and doing a bit of manual labor. It was tough work, but they definitely collected a pretty large sum of G. However, the biggest help was from Frisk, who donated more G than they had ever seen in one place before. They asked them where it all came from, but Frisk only shrugged, mentioning something about residue and Tems. So the girls went about renting an apartment once again and purchasing a small shop, fit snuggly in a nice plaza. They got to work on fixing the place up their way, and by the time it was done, the walls was a mix of colorful designs and fairly impressive paint work. From here, they went back to square one, going back to getting people's used wares. Of course, they stopped digging in the garbage, but instead Bratty came up with the brilliant idea to start up a donation pool for people to just dump the things they no longer wanted and sell them to those who might actually want them. After all, with all the thing they found in the dump back in the Underground, it was obvious that humans tended to waste quite a lot of things. As the saying goes: one man's trash is one monster's treasure.

Two months had come and gone once again, and while thing had started out slow for them, they were soon earning a modest amount of money from their rather simple idea. They found themselves being able to pay off their bills and rent once again, with the threat of a deadline no longer worrying them anymore. Catty had felt her confidence swell after a time and was able to backtalk or force out any human or monster looking for trouble, and Bratty was finally starting to get a good night's rest for the first time in months.

Things seemed to be going well for them, and they had their friends to thank, as well as each other. They had stayed together for an entire year above ground, and yet not a single time did their faith in each other waver. They now spent their days together hand in hand, and their nights snuggled up against one another, always letting the other know they were there to support them or love them. They were BFFs. They were lovers. They could never be torn apart, no matter what the problem. They were looking forward to spending another year together, knowing their friendship and love wouldn't change a single bit the whole way through.


	4. Day 4 - Papyrisk (Underswap)

**Imma be honest, this was one of the hardest to do, mostly because I just spent so much time wondering what AU to do, and how I was going to make it work. And then… his beauty came to mind.**

 **WARNING: Although this doesn't contain any NSFW content, the relationship is very unhealthy and does have a very… rapey moment.**

* * *

Step… step… step…

At first, Frisk never wanted to hurt anyone. You could call her a bit of a pacifist, and she was rather proud of that. The same could be said for Chara, the human that hosted her spirit. After all, these were her fellow monsters she was talking about. They had loved her and treated her as if she was one of their own, and she relished seeing her family once again. Chara seemed to understand these feelings, as she had made sure to painstakingly spare every monster they came across. Together they saved the Underground, and Frisk finally received the closure her restless spirit had been aching for ever since her death. But… then came the resets.

"Heya kid…"

Reset after reset, they saw the same things over and over again, with small bouncing skeletons and angry lizards meeting them with the same lines and shenanigans with each turn back. Chara seemed to be only interested in reliving one of the best days of her life, as well as experimenting with the different reactions and secrets of the people around them. However, the one that caught Frisk's attention the most was that humorist. It was the comedian. The skeleton who smelled of an interesting mix of cigarettes and honey.

"You've been busy, huh?"

It was just a harmless interest at first. The skeleton was obviously hiding a few secrets, secrets that they uncovered with each time they reset the world. Still, even after poking through each and every crevice of the Underground, it seemed that Chara's curiosity was not yet sated.

"Really busy."

Chara was the one who came up with the idea to start slaying a few monsters. Frisk was absolutely against it, though she had to admit her own curiosity was rather high.

"You just don't know when to quit, do ya?"

When they had slain their first monster, they had both felt horrible. They had felt remorse and regret. By the fiftieth monster, Frisk couldn't seem to muster up the emotion to even care.

"Alright then… tell me something, kid.

First it just a few monsters, and by the time a few resets had passed, Chara was already slaying Alphys. Frisk had always had a sort of loathing towards the lizard; she wasn't going to be missed by her anytime soon. It wasn't until she was killing her own mother and father in the next few runs that she realized she had stopped being able to feel the remorse she had once been proud to feel.

"I want you to be completely honest with me…"

Once again, it was Chara who wanted to go all the way. She just wanted to know what it would feel like; to see what would happen and how her once friends would react. And so, that's what she did. It wasn't until nearly everyone within the ruins had been slain that Frisk was able to, for once in her life, gain control. It was startling at first, and Chara was completely taken aback when she moved through Sans' puzzles without even realizing it. It had been scary for her, but Frisk only found it exhilarating. However, no amount of killing or resets could prepare her for the real deal; the object of her entire focus.

Papyrus.

"How many times have we done this?"

Frisk could only grin, the smile stretching across her face as her fingers mindlessly twirled the knife in her hand. Papyrus blinked at her with tired sockets, giving a small sigh as he knew she wasn't going to answer him. It was all a part of her fun. "Alrighty then," he muttered, phalanges coming up to his cigarette, quickly crushing it by both ends and flicking it away.

"Let's get this over with."

Adrenaline kicked through her the instant she felt her soul turn blue and her body slam against the wall. She couldn't keep that delirious grin off of her face as she nimbly dodged each bone that shot up from the ground. As expected, not a scratch was on her by the time the Blasters had disappeared. She grabbed hold of her knife as her body darted forward to give the first strike.

The first time they had battled, it was frustrating. It was infuriating. It made her angrier and angrier with each time she was forced to load her Save File once again. There was a conclusion, though. It took one hundred and sixty-seven times, but there was finally an ending. No dosage of heroine or cocaine in the world could give her the same high she felt when her knife hit bone, slicing straight through his neck and lobbing his skull clean off. She felt only glee once he dusted. However, that wasn't the end of it. Even after, she found that her thoughts still lingered on that humorist. Of course, those thoughts had died down once Chara had reset again, but after gaining a few more levels from harming a group of monsters, her interest was sparked again. The two began to experiment, seeing what kills got him to react in certain ways. Frisk found a particular giddying feeling in just seeing what could make him express emotion. This usually meant slashing through his older brother, but he she didn't care. Sans was forgettable anyways. Papyrus was much more intriguing.

Before long, they were on the route to genocide once again. Frisk wanted to feel that high again. She wanted to experience every grueling moment of that final fight. Sure enough, they were face to face once again, and Frisk was only a tad rusty with her moves this time. It only took a good twenty tries to kill him that time. But this wasn't enough, and soon they reset and went back to experimenting. They hadn't even erased the world, either. The expression on his face when he saw Chara again, it was… well, she wasn't going to describe it in words. Papyrus had become her new obsession, and she was determined to know everything she could about her favorite humorist.

Now, here she was, on their fiftieth genocide run. She couldn't be more ecstatic. Frisk considered this to be their anniversary, even if Papyrus himself didn't know it. She would make this memorable, though, just for him. Only for him.

Thoughts of their being together had clouded her mind, to the point where she was almost hit again. That was rather close. Still, she didn't let it deter her, and went about slashing at him once again to see him take a short cut out of the way just in time. More bones shot from the ground, but they were avoided with ease. It was practically child's play at this point. The more she dodged his attacks, the more she saw her love beginning to sweat, her prize soon to come. She had the entire sequence memorized at this point; bones, blast, jump, bones, jump, blast. He was at the point of where he was getting tired. It was coming.

Platforms appeared, but they barely deterred her as she moved past every blaster just as they went off. Here it comes.

"Whoa, you really like swinging that thing around, huh?"

There it is.

Frisk stopped, listening to his spiel that was mostly aimed at Chara, trying to plead with her to spare him. This was one of the only parts she really despised. He wasn't supposed to be talking with Chara. This was their moment; he should be paying attention to _her_ , not Chara.

As usual, she refused his offer and took another swipe at him, and despite knowing he was going to avoid it anyways, she still gave it her all, because he deserved nothing less. The rest of the fight went as it usually did, though this time she was determined to not get hit once throughout this attempt. It only felt right, and so far, she was succeeding.

Before long, they were at the finale. Frisk readied herself for the attack, and despite all of Papyrus' warnings and threats, she went in with a smile on her face, her heavily lidded eyes still so concentrated on his figure. Thrown from wall to wall and shot through loops, she successfully avoided each and every bone, blast, and karmic retribution he tried to spear through her body. Sweat dripped down from her face, but she didn't stop despite the aching of her body. Papyrus himself looked as if he had taken quite the beating, even if it was more of a mental one than the physical kind. With one last wave of his hand, he slammed her into the wall, ready to launch the special attack he'd been warning her about, despite knowing that she already knew what it was. However, he wasn't prepared from the sudden break from the rhythm as Frisk failed to stop to listen to his usual chatter about his special attack. Instead, she continued to run straight at him, and before he could even get the chance to use a short cut, she hand him tackled to the ground, a knife at his cervical vertebrae. He grunted in surprise, immediately moving to grab her, but she quickly took hold of both hands, lined them up, and speared through them with her knife and pinned them to the ground. Red liquid poured from his shaking hands, leaking from his shaking metacarpals. He cried out in pain, struggling to buck her off, but with her straddling his pelvis, she wouldn't let him. Not when they were so close.

"Kid, what the fuck do you think you'r- _gah_!" Papyrus was cut off when he felt cold fingers duck under his hoodie skim around his lumbar vertebrae. Frisk smiled giddily down at her prize, watching him look up at her with a newfound terror in his sockets, something she had yet to see before. The tips of her fingers gently rubbed along the discs of his spine, making him twitch and squirm at having someone touch such a sensitive part of his frame. She wanted to know everything about him, and the more physical aspects certainly were no exception. Curious hands began to explore along his sternum and ribs, mapping out his entire frame as jagged and broken nails scraped along the bone, causing him to hiss at the sharp, prickling feeling. Her hands roughly felt every inch of his upper body, tugging at various bones to see what made him yelp and what made him grunt in pain. It seemed that the discs of his vertebrae were most sensitive, especially around his neck. Several times he tried to tell her off or intimidate her, but his methods fell apart when his speech became stuttered whenever she yanked at a rung of his spine. Her hands soon came to his skull, and his expression grew even more wary, but it wasn't quite what she was looking for. She enjoyed listening to him groan in slight pain as her fingers hooked through his mandible and slid into his sockets to feel around his magic-filled cranium. As hard as he tried to force her off, he was just too weak. It wasn't long before she was satisfied; she slumped against his ribcage, closing her eyes for a moment to just dream of another time where she would have this skeleton all to herself. Her hand grazed his neck as she did so, playing with the sensitive rungs as if she was a lover rather than the killer he knew her as.

However, all good things must come to an end. Frisk straightened up her posture, sitting up and taking hold of the knife handle and ripping it out. "You look just like Gaster now," she laughed, referring to the new holes in his hand. He could only cry out in pain as he lay limp on the tile ground. Given up, has he? Cute. Without hesitation, she slashed the sharp blade across the humorist's cervical vertebrae, slicing through bone with ease and disconnecting his skull from the rest of his body. Liquid determination spewed from the wound, splattering all over Frisk as she daintily picked up the severed head, looking him in the sockets. Papyrus' sockets seemed to shrink in shock, mandible left hanging in silent horror, before he being cut off by a deranged giggle. That look was everything she'd ever wanted to see. It filled her with a high words could not describe. She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against his frontal bone in silent euphoria at this moment. She let her breathing slow as she just wanted to stay like this forever. Just her and the skeleton, here together once again.

She soon pulled away, watching him with heavily lidded eyes that only portrayed a mad devotion. "Happy fiftieth!" Frisk grinned. "This was rather fun, humorist. Let's play again!"

Papyrus' could find anything to say, his body already dusting below the human's own smaller frame. Frisk stood up, taking the skull and planting a firm kiss atop his frontal bone. With little hesitation, she raised it above her head and smashed it into the ground, watching it turn to dust immediately. She watched the dust settle, wiping away some of the speckles of red that had been sprayed on her face and licking her stained knife clean.

She then loaded her save file.

…

Papyrus stood there, silent as Frisk approached him once again, unable to say anything for once as they faced each other. The human smiled madly at the monster, who remained without sound. He just stared, letting the cigarette drop from his mouth and onto the ground.

For once, he didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do but just stare.


	5. Day 5 - Alphyne (Underfell)

Despite what one might expect, Waterfall was a rather peaceful place. Monsters did not disturb you as long as you minded your own business, and it was a common sight to see children and various monsters playing in some of the many bodies of water. Alphys didn't visit here often, mostly because she found no need to. She preferred the warmth of Hotlands opposed to the cold dampness of the Underground's swamplands. But, right now, she just needed time to herself, and the only place she could think to find solace was in Waterfall, away from everyone and everything, especially those things she kept locked up in the lab. So here she stood, overlooking the seemingly bottomless pit that their never-ending stream of water poured into, disappearing into the blackness and never to be seen again. Alphys vaguely puzzled over if anyone would ever miss that water, or if they ever wondered where that water went after it disappeared. Did it really matter? Water, like all things, was easily replaceable, and so no one ever cared for where it went or what it did, or whether or not there was enough to go around and use to their liking.

Alphys found herself grimacing at her own thoughts. "You sound like a child," she scolded herself, clenching her fists slightly. "Though, at least a child would be missed…"

She stepped closer to the edge, looking down at the smoothly flowing waters that glided past her feet and off the ground, into the black depths of the pit. She sighed and sat down then and there, not caring about her clothes becoming soaked. Those were easily replaceable as well. She let out a small sigh, attempting to unwind from a hard day's work. She was tired. Of what, she could not be specific; she was just tired of everything. She let her small, thick legs hang off of the ledge, making a small break in the smooth shine of the waterfall. This was foolish. How easy it would be for someone, possibly looking for a bit of easy EXP, to just come up behind her and push her into the pit. It would also be rather easy to just slip, or to accidentally fall, or to just… drop. Maybe if she were to accidentally slip, she could finally see where the water goes. Maybe then she would see what it was like to truly be alone, just her and the rushing water, gone and forgotten by all. That would surely bring a few some satisfaction.

Alphys barely noticed when her hands gripped the ledge tightly, ready to push off at a single command. She frowned lightly as she watched the pit. Maybe she should just…

"Hey, punk! What're you doing so close to the edge?"

Alphys blinked in surprised, jumping slightly for a moment as she looked back, her once blank and tired expression now replaced with a trained and hardened glare at whoever came to disturb the peace. To her slight interest, it was a denizen of Waterfall; a fish monster to be exact. Semi-aquatic as well, apparently, as she walked on two legs without breaking a sweat. Alphys gave a small huff of annoyance, peering at her from over her spiraled glasses as she slowly withdrew from the edge and stood up.

"Wh-what is it?" she muttered, looking away from the monster that approached, as she usually did when others talked to her.

"Well you were awfully close to that ledge," the other monster responded, crossing her arms just out of Alphys' vision. "You ain't gonna jump, are ya?" The small lizard glared up at her from behind her large glasses. This female was a blue fish, standing rather tall and had an eyepatch covering one eye. She was also rather thin, but taut muscles showed that she was no monster to be messed with. With her slick crimson hair tied back, sharp teeth bared, and her more than formal stance, she looked rather intimidating. She reminded her a bit of one of her animes, in fact, but she'd never say that aloud. Still, Alphys kept her composure up as she quickly looked away again. "And? What's it to you?" The monster frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "What? Can't do my job?" she scoffed. "The only useless monster is a dead one. If I just let every suicidal monster wander over and throw themselves off, believe me when I say we wouldn't have a very big population."

Alphys couldn't help but give a small chuckle at the statement, finding it rather humorous despite the dark subject. "Oh? And just who are you?" she sighed, glancing up at her once again very briefly. The monster didn't seem to bothered by her uptight tone. "Undyne," she introduced. Head of the Royal Guard." Alphys froze up completely. Fuck. She should have known. Any regular monster would have just taken the chance and pushed her straight off. Of course, she was a Royal Guardsman. It was just her luck. This was sure to get her a stern talking to by the big guy himself. Again. After fuck up with the Amalgamates, she was already on thin ice with him. Any more berating from him, his guards, or his subjects, and she felt as though she would have a meltdown. Hell, maybe she'd already had it.

"So, you gonna answer my question?" Undyne asked, looking down at her with a stern expression whilst awaiting an answer to her first question. "Or are you just gonna stand there like a dumb ass?"

You know what? Fuck Asgore.

"Okay, so maybe I was," Alphys spat, raising her voice for the first time that night. "Why the fuck would you care? It's not like anyone would miss me while I was gone." Undyne blinked in surprise, opening her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Alphys, who was going on a bit of an angry rant. "I mean, what use am I anymore, right? Other than to make Asgore look like he's got shit under control. Which, by the way, he does, especially without me, seeing as he has six souls and doesn't need me with his hundreds of guards around. It's not like anyone wants me either; I mean, what else have I done besides fuck up, huh? Citizens, guards, colleagues; who is there that wouldn't care if I just jumped off, huh? Anyone besides you, of course, for god knows what reason. Though, I suppose I'm not totally unwanted. After all, who else would keep Undernet up and running when no one's here to-"

Alphys was finally shut up by a forceful hand slapped over her mouth. "Geeze, you never stop talking, huh?" Undyne chuckled. "Sounds like you need to blow off a bit of steam, yeah?" Alphys only glared and shoved her hand away, attempting to hide her frayed emotions behind her large glasses, something she used to be rather talented at. Unfortunately, it wasn't working so well as of late.

"Look, I don't usually get involved with this kind of stuff," the fish sighed, crouching down to the lizard's level. "You're Alphys, right? Head Royal Scientist? Well, that's at least what I gathered from your little rant." Said monster looked away, somewhat embarrassed at her mentioned outburst. "No matter who you are," Undyne continued, "you're obviously in need of a bit of help." The much smaller monster blinked at her, wondering where this was going. The other just chuckled. "You need to stop being such a little bitch."

Alphys just stared for a moment, before immediately turning around to throw herself off the ledge. Undyne quickly grabbed her arm before she could fully turn, letting out a little laugh. "I mean, look at you, you're like a walking doormat. You let everyone just step all over you, like you're worthless," she pointed out. "Gee, you're such a fucking help," Alphys muttered, looking away from her as she tried to shove her emotions back into that broken bottle. She paused, however, when she felt a large hand grab hold of her much smaller one, wrapping around it tightly. Not a beat passed before Undyne continued to speak. "How about you prove them wrong?" The seconds ticked by before Alphys slowly looked up at the other monster, the inquisitive look clear even past her thickly framed glasses, meant to hide her away from others. The Royal Guardsman merely grinned at her before she kept going. "You're the Head Royal Scientist. If anything, you deserve nothing but respect. Fuck anyone who thinks otherwise. Show them you're not gonna be stepped on like some doormat, even if you have to bust a few heads in the process."

Alphys watched her for a few seconds, looking for any sign of mockery or spite, but there was none to be seen. She felt a strange warmth in her soul for a few seconds, and instead of disappearing, it only grew as Undyne lifted another hand to cup the other one. "And besides," she sighed, "we're almost free. We're gonna bust out of here and we're gonna eradicate those humans off of our planet, yeah? And you're gonna show those pesky humans and all monsters that you're a scientist to be feared." He squeezed her hands. "So don't quit now, okay? Hang in there, and don't quit no matter what these fuckers say. You gotta stay determined and put one hundred percent into your work, because what you do is important."

That grinned turned into a light smile. "So don't throw everything away just yet, okay?"

Alphys said nothing at first, before she looked away, magic rushing up to her cheeks for the first time in several months. Who was this monster? Who did she think she was, bringing an emotion as weak and despised as compassion into a place like this? Still, Alphys didn't give a damn over what was taboo at the moment. All she knew was her soul fluttered even more as Undyne's grip gently squeezed Alphys' much smaller hands. She felt something other than frustration in response for the first time in years, and by god was it relief. She looked back at the fish, giving a sort of nervous laugh. "Well… I do suppose I was a tad unreasonable there for a second…"

Undyne could only give a laugh in response, before standing up fully. "Yeah, ya think? You got me being all sentimental and everything," she chuckled. "Papyrus'll be on a five-month rant if he ever catches me being nice." She looked down at Alphys. "Seems like you need a bit of a break. Tell you what: my break comin' in within a few minutes. How about some Spite Cream? I hear the Spite Cream Vendor is just a few rooms away from here. On me." The much smaller monster looked up at her new companion. How could she refuse? "Y-yeah. Sounds great," she smiled, her soul beginning to soar upon seeing Undyne grin triumphantly in response. "Here, I'll even give you boost. Royal Guard style."

Alphys gasped in surprise when she was suddenly heaved up by her waist and tucked under the other's arm. Within seconds, she was springing down the halls of Waterfall, nimbly avoiding each and every monster that got in their way as they passed. Alphys pulled away from her surprise to look up at Undyne, her glasses nearly sliding off her face to reveal large, curious, and amazed blue eyes as she watched the much stronger monster navigate the halls with ease. As they neared the end of their destination, she realized that Undyne was looking back down at her, a confident grin spread across her fact as she slowed her pace. The smaller monster blushed and hurriedly straightened the glasses back on her face, mumbling small curses to herself. Still, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. It had only been a span of less than ten minutes, and yet this beast of a woman had already swept her up off her feet. She knew she had work to do and people to see, but for now, she couldn't give a damn.

Tonight, she was walking home with a new stride in her step and determination in her soul.


	6. Day 6 - Hotland Girls (Undertale)

**Well… this ship exists. I like it, but damn, it's kinda popular. This is ship between Fuku Fire and Skateboard Girl. A few headcanons you should be aware of going in:**

 **Fuku is Grillby's daughter.**

 **Skateboard Girl is named Blaine.**

 **They're already in a reltionship.**

 **They're around 18.**

 **….. That's kinda it.**

* * *

The house was relatively silent partially darkened by the night, the only light coming from a low yellow glow from a partially closed room and a much brighter green one emitting from the figure at the stairs. The young fire monster walked with painfully slow steps, attempting not to wake her sleeping father in the room just feet from her. She knew from past experiences that the fourth step had a loose board, and proceeded to step over it as she made her way down the stairs. A bag at her hip and her clothes set to bring out her flames, she knew that if she was caught now, it would at least be a month or so without the car. Or maybe her it would be her phone. Either one was enough to make her soul clench.

As soon as the bottom step was reached, she quickly made her way to the door, being sure to slip out without a sound. Once the door was locked, she took a moment to relish the calm, still night air, her flames burning a little brighter at the sudden rush of fresh air. Looking over, she saw an idle, rusty car stopped a few houses away, just as promised. A familiar arm stuck out the window and waved, and she wasted no time in booking it over, coming to a light jog as she approached. As soon as she was inside, she was greeted by the same snarky grin she'd been waiting to see all night. The purple monster beside her had on her usual attire, being a ratty pair of jeans and a plaid shirt, barely buttoned up near the top, and her same cap that she had turned backwards and tilted just enough to make room for her large horns.

"Took ya long enough," Blaine chuckled, starting the car. "Yeah? Well it's not like I just run out,"Fuku sighed, throwing her bag into the back. "I mean, I'm pretty much a small green lighthouse." She leaned forward and turned on the radio, looking over at her friend as they began to speed off. "You're lucky he works so goddamn late. He sleeps like a damp log the moment he gets home," she sighed. "Ever since we got out of the Underground, he's been watching me like a hawk. And he still doesn't trust me alone after he caught me last time." Faint recognition appeared on the other's face as she concentrated on the road. "Oh yeah. Two weeks without the phone, right." "Three!" Fuku exasperated. "Three fucking weeks! I swear, I was going to kill myself if I went one more day. Japanese is so fucking hard without Undernet. I tried to explain why my grade was dropping, but he wouldn't even listen to me. Asshole." Blaine gave a small laugh in response, before asking, "So why don't you just learn the language or something. Or, y'know, study?" Fuku just flicked her flame, a fire monster's version of an eye roll. "As if. That shit is super hard. I should've just picked up French. At least Muffet would be able to teach me something." She looked back over at her friend, before observing the car. "Where'd you get this old thing?" Her friend gave a small shrug. "My dad bought it off a used car lot. He let my take it out for the night. As long as I don't wreck it, he's cool with it." Fuku watched her house disappear into the distance, before giving a short sigh. "So, what's this place you keep talking about?"

Blaine was silent for a few seconds as she prepared to make a turn, before flicking her eyes to Fuku and answering. "Skate park," she grinned. "Found out about it just last week. Pretty cool place. Pretty short distance, too. Just a quick drive away." The fire monster gave a groan as she slumped even more into her seat. "Aw come on, don't we such a baby," Blaine chuckled. "You'll be fine."

"Girl, I can't even skate," Fuku huffed. "You expect me to survive longer than five minutes at a skate park, you're out of your mind." Blaine rolled her eyes with a slight chuckle. "Hey, don't worry. I'll teach you. Piece of cake. You're gonna have a great time." The green monster just sighed in annoyance. "Yeah? Well I don't even own skates, so I can't do it even if I wanted to," she pointed out rather matter-of-factly. "Nah, I'll lend you my skateboard," the other responded, jerking a thumb to the back of the car. "You'll be fine." Fuku was a little taken aback that her best friend would let anyone take a ride on her skateboard. She was a little flattered by the gesture, but still persisted. "Alright, but everyone's gonna see me fall down a bunch of time. It's going to be so embarrassing," she sighed.

"Not really; it'll just be you and me," Blaine responded, making another slow turn. The other seemed slightly surprised by this. "Yeah? You sure?" The purple monster gave an affirmative nod. "Yep. It's not that much of a popular park. Not many people go there." Fuku narrowed her eyes for a moment; hard to believe that the usually disorganized Blaine was able to think up a sturdy plan for their night out. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Alright, she'll take the bait, but just this once. "Alright, fine," she sighed, looking away. The other denizen of Hotlands grinned and gave herself a mini pat on the back to cheer herself. "Don't worry, you're gonna love it," she assured her friend. Fuku huffed and looked at her suspiciously. "Yeah? You sure about that?"

Blaine smirked and leaned over, planting a kiss on her girlfriend's flame. "That's a promise." Fuku blinked in surprise, growing brighter as her flames flickered a light turquoise for a few seconds there, before she turned back in her seat and buckled in for the ride ahead, ignoring Blaine's light snicker.

The pair continued their journey down the road, singing along to whatever song on the radio was popular at the moment. However, it wasn't until a good four songs passed that Fuku realized the ride was stretching on a bit longer than she thought. "Hey, what gives?" she asked. "I thought you said it was only a short drive." Blaine didn't make eye contact this time, instead just giving a short hum to confirm it. "Yeah, I know," she said. "It is short. Just a good… hour drive away." The green monster sat up straight, tossing a bewildered look at her girlfriend. "An hour drive? Are you kidding me? You call that short?" Blaine just gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, okay, maybe I lied about that. Don't worry, I'll get you home on time." Fuku groaned in annoyance and slumped in her chair. She should have known; Blaine was a notorious liar, even if most of her deceptions are relatively harmless. "You bitch," she muttered, though it wasn't exactly in an angry way. She was just frustrated at the moment.

Well, they did eventually get to their destination: a rather large skate park with plenty of ramps and skating space. However, to the flame's surprise and slight annoyance, the skate park was filled with people, most of them humans. It was rather crowded in there. Fuku shot a look to Blaine as the horned girl exited the car. "You said it would only be us!" she cried, getting out as well. Blaine merely chuckled as she went to the back of the car. "Ha, sorry. Lied about that, too."

"Ugh. Okay, so I guess you lied about letting me use your skateboard, too?"

"Yep. Definitely."

"Oh my god."

"So I bought you a pair of skates instead."

She watched in slight amazement as her bestie pulled out a pair of brand new white skates. Still, she was a bit frustrated, but she did promise herself she would at least make an attempt at it. She sighed and snatched the skates out of her hands and marched on over to the park.

A few humans glanced their way, looking curious to see a fire monster and her purple girlfriend come in and sit down. Fuku mumbled a few confident, pep talk-like phrases to herself a she fitted the tight skates onto her feet. She was glad they at least fit her decently. "How did you know my size?" she asked Blaine, who gave her a small smirk. "You rub your feet on me sometimes when you sleep," she answered. "You have, like, the smallest fuckin' feet."

Fuku flared a sea green color for half a second, before, she tried to brush it off by standing up with the skates on. She immediately squealed as soon as she began to slip and slide in place, before crumbling onto the bench in a weak mess. Blaine let out a rambunctious laugh before bending down to help her girlfriend back up, who was now a darker shade from the embarrassment. Fuku gripped her hands tightly, trying to keep herself steady on the ground. "O-okay, now help me out. You said you would teach me."

"Oh, I lied about that, too."

"Blaine!"

"Joking! Joking!"

And so, one monster steadily grabbed the other and lead her to a small rink where those with roller skates could practice and just cruise around. Blaine gave her girlfriend an encouraging smile, grabbing her skateboard as she led her to the small ring. Fuku was trying her damnedest to keep steady, but she still slipped a few times. Fortunately for her, Blaine was always there to catch her in case she fell.

"A bit clumsy, eh?" she grinned. Fuku just huffed as she tried to straighten herself. "No no, I'm fine. I'll have this down in no time. Just- FUUUUCK ME!" She squeaked in terror as she slipped into split position, gasping as she grabbed onto Blaine's waist to just keep herself up. The other laughed and helped her up. "Hey hey, just stand still, back straight, and don't try to take a step," she instructed, watching her attempt to follow the orders and stand up a bit straighter. Once she was steady, Blaine began to lead her around the rink once again, attempting to teach her how to skate on her own.

The process of actually teaching the newbie how to get around on wheels was pretty difficult. Often times she would have to shoot glares at snickering teenagers just to save Fuku the embarrassment of constantly falling down. However, as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect, and while things were going fairly slowly to begin with, slowly she began to make progress, falling less frequently and being able to stay up by herself for a few good minutes. It was moving that was the right part, and though it took over an hour, Fuku seemed almost ready to get off of her training wheels and into the rink.

"C'mon, babe, one more time," she encouraged, stepping back to watch her stand perfectly still, both arms spread out wide to keep her balance. She took a step forward, almost slipping and falling had it not been for the help of her flapping arms. She gulped and tried again, this time moving forward a bit as planned. She repeated a step, smiling when she didn't lose balance. "Looking good," Blaine grinned, watching her slowly repeat the step around the rink. A few more circles later and she was rather getting the hang of it.

Blaine grinned, glad she was able to do a bit of skating on her own now. Once she was sure Fuku was good and steady on the ground, she grabbed her skateboard and began to glide around, her girlfriend trailing behind her. It only took a few minutes, but Fuku soon realized how easily she was able to keep up with Blaine now that she was on wheels, instead of having to jog after her as she usually did. Maybe Blaine did have a point to all this after all.

After a bit of rolling around casually, Blaine went about skating down the halfpipes and doing a few tricks. Fuku sat by, encouraging her friend with quick praised each time she came back up onto the ledge, about to perform another trick.

A couple of hours after the two monsters had started their fun together, they decided to head back home so they could get some rest before their parents woke up. They got back into their car, laughing and talking and a bit tired.

"I had a really great time," Fuku smiled, taking off the large skates from her feet. "Hey, I told you you'd have fun, didn't I?" Blaine sighed, grinning over at her. "Yeah, you did," the flame gave in, closing her eyes and leaning over to give Blaine a quick kiss. The other returned it, of course, before they started on their way home. They spent the rest of the drive talking and singing along to music. By the time they arrived at the Fire residence, the sunrise could just barely be seen.

"Thanks for the skates," Fuku said quickly, giving Blaine another kiss. "Maybe we'll do this again some other week?" Her girlfriend nodded in agreement at the idea, leaning against the wheel. "Sounds good. I'll check to see if I can somehow steal the car while my dad's out again."

"Wait. I thought you said he let you borrow it."

"Uh…. That was a lie, too."

Fuku just laughed before giving another kiss, grabbing her bag and the skates, and exiting the car. She watched the car drive off as she made her way back to her house, a barely visible smile across her flame. She slowly opened the door to her house, slipping in without a sound. She silently pat herself on the back, thinking she had gotten away with the entire night, until she went up the stairs. Her foot hit the fourth step, causing a loud creak to emit from the staircase. Her soul clenched when she saw the kitchen lights come on. "Fuku," called the all too familiar voice of her father. Fuku cursed herself, sighing as she slowly made her way to the kitchen.

"Heyyy, daddy," she greeted slowly, attempting to play off the fact that she was fully clothed in not-so-modest clothing, holding a bag and a pair of skates. Sure, he didn't have his glasses on right now, but he wasn't blind. Grillby was slumped over the counter, arms crossed patiently with a bottle of hundred proof vodka nearby, his version of a morning coffee. He gave his daughter a tired look, before taking a swig.

Fuku sighed. "Well, look, you see, I just woke up an hour ago and wanted to-"

"I saw you go out five hours ago, Fuku."

"Dammit," she swore to herself. "Well, you see, it's because…. Okay, I have nothing." Grillby's flames just flicked in slight annoyance.

"Four weeks without the phone."

"What?!"

"Hand it over."

"But daddyyyyyyyy!"

"Want me to add the car to that, too?"

Fuku just groaned and handed her device over grumpily before going upstairs to get some sleep. "Did you at least have fun?" Grillby called, causing her to pause for a second. "Yeah, dad. It was…. It was great. I learned to skate."

"That's good."

"Yeah…" She then went to her room to catch up on sleep, wishing there was some way to wake up four weeks from now. Hopefully her dad wouldn't read her texts. After tonight, who knows what Blaine would be sending her.


	7. Day 7 - Salphys (Swapfell)

Sans and Alphys weren't what you would exactly call "chummy" with each other. As Alphys would routinely hand in her report every evening, she always wore this begrudging look about her for whoever saw her. Sans, on the other hand, stayed a stoic as he usually did, receiving the report with a blank expression. Perhaps the occasional condescending comment or maybe even a slight pleased thank would come from him, but other than that, they remained snarky and spiteful around each other as always. Some blamed it on their positions within the Royal Guard; ever since Sans beat Alphys into a demotion and took up her title, the once friends now only looked at each other coldly and spoke shortly; Sans was contemptuous as usual while Alphys remained bitter whilst he was around. They hated each other, as rumor had it, and yet, there were those who knew better. They knew what happened every third Wednesday.

Papyrus, as loyal as he was to his lord, couldn't help but speak in chuckles and gleed tones about the special date. The monster behind the locked doors seemed to always listen with interest, asking him more questions about Sans and the Royal Guard. As for Undyne, she couldn't help but smirk knowingly whenever she saw the short pair around. Although Alphys had sworn her to secrecy, it was still something she teased her friend about and occasionally used as blackmail whenever she needed a little leverage from the Guard. Besides these three, no one else knew of their little day together, as it was a day only they knew of, where they met for only a mere two hours before going about their business.

What happens every third Wednesday, you may find yourself asking. Well, it's not a day many would quite understand. You see, the two monsters had their specific needs and desires; needs and desires that they could only fill with each other, which is why they prefer they kept it to themselves. Should any outsiders find out, the outcome would truly be disastrous.

When that third Wednesday rolls around, the day starts out relatively normal. The brothers start their patrol as usual. Papyrus would, of course, fall asleep at his post as usual, while Sans constantly berated him with swears and threats until their shifts came to an end. Alphys would be doing her usual duties, as well, before she would fill out a report she would soon have to turn into her captain. The clock would strike six, and Sans would already be out the door. This is where the true day begins.

"Mutt," Sans barked as usual. "I'm leaving. I will be home by nine. Lock the doors and stay inside until further notice." Papyrus gave a low "m'lord", focusing on a book as he waved his brother goodbye. And with that, Sans left.

As usual, the River Skeleton was there, waiting for someone to board his boat. He handed a few G over to the hooded skeleton, who took it and brung him to his usual spot in Hotland. The much smaller skeleton said nothing as he left the boat, making his way to a familiar house, shapes like a curled up lizard with the gaping maw as the entrance.

A single knock was all it took. Within seconds, the door casually opened to reveal a blank Alphys, dressed in her usual tank top and shorts.

"Alphys."

"Sans."

Sans entered the house, stiff with his gloved hands folded behind him. He was still in his battle body, but it was really no problem for the either of them. They could do this, even with it on.

"Have you gotten everything?" Sans questioned, standing tall and making sure he was ready for the activities ahead. "Of course. Just what we agreed on. Are you ready?" Alphys asked, securing the latch on the door and beginning to close the blinds. "Absolutely," he assured her firmly, taking a quick look around the house. She only gave a curt nod, making her way over to him.

The two stopped just short of each other, saying nothing. They stared, eye to eye socket, preparing themselves.

It was time.

Without warning, they both began to scream at the top of their lungs. Alphys wasted no time in grabbing Sans by the lumbar vertebrae, running into the kitchen and hurling him at the wall, causing it to erupt in a cloud of dry wall and debris. Still screaming like a madman, Sans popped his head back out of the dust pile like a gopher. Bundled up in his arms were several neatly tied wheat stalks, freshly harvested from the fertile lands of who gives a fuck. He threw the pieces of hay onto the counter of the kitchen, summoning a large Gaster Blaster to blast them. Sure, it disintegrated a large chunk of the counter, but at least the wheat had been blasted into nicely ground flour. He ran over and scooped up the flour, throwing fistfuls of the powder at Alphys. Luckily, Alphys had a bowl stapled to her still screaming face, catching a most of the powder before ripping the damn thing off with a war cry ripping through her throat and murder in her eyes.

She threw the glass bowl onto the broken counter, causing some of the inner glass to break inside the container and getting mixed with the flour. The main part of the bowl was still intact, however. Now, any normal coward would carefully pick out each individual glass piece from the powder, while the real pussies just threw the shit away just to be safe. No. That's not how it's done. Alphys ran over and mixed that shit together, for you aren't a true warrior unless you can swallow giant shards of glass without being a little bitch and crying. She added two eggs in there, smashing them in with shells and all, making sure she pounded it into the dust so hard that the mother of those eggs would physically hurt from daring to birth those baby failures.

Now it was time to make the dough. Add water you say? Get the fuck out with that shit.

Alphys pulled out a gallon of bleach, pouring that stuff in like there was no tomorrow. She eagerly grabbed a knife and began stabbing the bowl's contents, causing them to mix into a foul concoction. It was not yet dough, though. No, that was Sans' job. She eagerly grabbed the bowl, still screaming all the while, and forced it against Sans' face. He drank the entire thing; as quickly as the solution entered his mouth, it soon fell onto the dusty ground as a glass-filled, clean smelling dough, now with bits of drywall. He bundled the load up in his arms, his wails never ending as he tossed the dough onto the counter. Now it was time to make it into pasta. Usually a machine is requited, but Alphys refused to have a robot do what she was more than capable of: grabbing a frying pan and repeatedly slamming it onto the dough until it was flat and limp and crunchy. She took out her axe and began furiously hacking at the dough, splitting her counter dozens of times, as well as slicing her pasta into uneven strips. This was where they had to sit back and let the pasta dry, letting it rest, but who the fuck just sits back and waits for something to get ready itself? They pushed their guards to the breaking point, so why the hell should this innocent pasta be any different. Horrifying death cries rang throughout the house as Sans rushed over to the back room and came back out with a hair dryer. Twisting it on its highest setting, then set the device on fire and threw it at the pasta, causing it to bake much faster, as well as burn.

Once the pasta was all toasty, they thew it into an empty pot. Alphys grabbed the pot, while Sans ran outside, retrieving a fire hose. She turned to fave him, the open pot pointing towards him, and he let loose. The sudden burst of water from the fire hose caused both monsters to shoot back. Alphys was blasted into the wall, her screams gurgling through the water. It wasn't until they were standing in six inches of water throughout the house that Sans finally shut it off, and by then, the pot was readily filled and put on the stove. Pulling a flame thrower out of her inventory, Alphys blasted the pot at full force, boiling the water within seconds and overcooking the pasta. Sans shoved his arm into the boiling water, grabbing all the pasta and throwing it out at the destroyed counter. Now it was just time for the sauce.

Alphys ran over to the counter and hip-thrusted into it, causing the ground to quake as vegetables (and that lone fucker tomato who thinks he's a fruit) to fall from the ceiling. Sans already knew what to do. The veggies were his enemies. And so, he went about intimidating his enemies, giving a ferocious death cry at them in the middle of his continuous screaming. The vegetables smashed themselves, splattering against the wall. He took a knife and scraped that shit off the wall, taking a handful and throwing it at the defeated pasta.

It was done. They had made their monstrosity. With one last war cry into the ceiling, they went quite for the first time in that hour. They took a look at what they hd made, breathing heavily. "Well," Alphys panted, "that was even better than last time." Sans gave a small chuckle in response. "Indeed it was," he sighed, taking a moment to catch his breath after that experience. Alphys grinned and looked up at him. "Dare you to eat it," she said, expression turning into a rather snarky one. "Ha, trying to assassinate me now, are you?" he teased, taking the pasta and throwing it out. Once that was over with, he looked over himself. He was splattered with sauce and god knows what.

"Ugh," he sighed, wiping some of the gunk off. "This was definitely our messiest meeting, as well as our most exuberant." Alphys crossed her arms, ignoring the gunk on her own body. She watched him for a few seconds, before speaking up again. "So how about you wash up?" she suggested. Sans gave a slight nod, wiping the tomato off of his skull. "Oh, I definitely will. I'll text the lazybones beforehand so he can start me a bath." Alphys shook her head at the idea. "No, I meant here." Sans gave her a passing look, raising the tops of his sockets some, silent for a few seconds.

"Alphys, you know I can't-"

"C'mon, Sans. You never spend the night."

"And you know why."

"Don't be so uptight. Just this once. No one will know."

Sans remained silent once again, thinking the offer over. He soon gave a sigh. Fuck it. Why the hell not? He smiled at her and nodded. "Fine. I will take you up on your offer. But just this once."

"Pfft, Imma drag you here every time you come back," she grinned, grabbing him by the scarf and pulling him into a kiss. He soon broke it up, however, giving her a sly look. "Every third Wednesday, remember?" he reminded, but Alphys just rolled her eyes. "Fuck it. We'll make it a weekly thing. Fuck what anyone else says," she huffed. "Right Sans?"

"That's captain, to you."

"Oh shut up," she laughed, pulling him into another kiss, before pulling away because he tasted like bleach and flour. "Now c'mon, let's get cleaned up."

While Sans usually detested anyone who bossed him around, he relented his control as Alphys grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out of the kitchen and into the bathroom, planning to enjoy their night together before they were forced back into their roles by morning. By the next day, everything would be back to normal. They would glare at each other, and many would whisper rumors that Alphys angered him, or that Sans secretly beat her, but no one could really truly know. One day they might, but not now. For now, they would just enjoy their time together every Wednesday.


	8. Day 8 - Grillfet (Undertale)

Grillby enjoyed his time as a barkeeper and restaurant owner. It was a rather simple job with long term rewards and pleasurable people. Every day he would wish his daughter well at school and open the bar at eight. Fuku would come around at six after a bit of hanging out with her friends before going to their home in Snowdin, and he would soon close at ten. He'd done around the same routine for a good decade or so, but things began to change once his daughter began to start school in Hotland.

She had come in one day with that purple friend of hers, when she mentioned meeting a spider monster. This had caught the bartender's interest, and he prodded for more information.

"Just this spider monster," she shrugged. "Wanted to sell me a pastry or something, but it was way too expensive." Grillby looked at her as he continued to clean the glasses. "Is that so? How much was it?" he asked. "Nine hundred ninety-nine G."

Grillby wheezed and coughed at the price. And it was of a single pastry, no less. "Well, it sounds as though she's a bit greedy, don't you think?" he hummed, straightening the glassed on his nose. Fuku, of course, agreed, as she couldn't even afford a single pastry with that insane price. He thought negatively of the unnamed monster, but still pushed it out of his mind as he went back to his job. However, during the upcoming months, he began to hear more about the spider monster from his daughter's afternoon chatter.

"She's always surrounded by all these spiders."

"She doesn't talk much. Mostly stare."

"I think she's holding some kind of bake sale."

"Yeah, she's kinda freaky. She's got an accent. Can't tell where from, though."

Grillby didn't care much for whoever this stranger was, and he surely didn't mind as long as his daughter was safe. From all the negative comments, though, the picture in his mind wasn't a particularly pleasant one. He imagined some horrible, half spider/half human monstrosity with a hunger for money. However, he let her slip from his mind.

One morning, though, he found something rather curious in his restaurant as he was opening up. He went to the kitchen to prepare a few items, when he noticed several spiders huddled up in the corner. He didn't exactly mind, as long as they didn't disturb his patrons. Days began to pass and the spiders' web only grew in size. He felt a bit bothered, but didn't want to throw the poor spiders out; it was cold outside and they could possibly freeze. So instead, he kept them around a bit longer, letting them roam the restaurant while he cleaned. They even began to help out, bringing him empty glasses and the like. He found it rather nice to have a set of miniature helpers, but he knew he couldn't keep them around forever. The number of spiders only kept growing and the spiders themselves weren't able to go outside. Because of this, he decided to move them.

Pulling on his usual coat and gloves, he gathered the group of arachnids into a small box. He had first planned to venture outside of Snowdin, but soon came to the realization that it meant passing through Waterfall. He was fine, thank you. So instead, he ventured west towards the old ruins. It took a bit of time, but and the time he arrived, he could feel his core temperature dropping. He carefully set the box down and attempted to open the doors, but they wouldn't except for a small sliver. Still, this was enough. The spiders soon crawled out and scampered into the Ruins to escape the cold environment, and once each and every one of them were gone, he shut the doors and went back home.

Two days later, he noticed Fuku come in, munching on some sort of food. When he asked her what she had there, she held it up for him to see. "It's a donut," she explained, a smile evident in her voice. "That spider monster gave it to me for free." Grillby was a bit taken aback, and thus requested to know why. She only shrugged. "Not sure. She just told me to thank you specifically."

"Me? Why is that?"

"Not sure. But hey, free donuts, dad. They're pretty good, too." She continued munching on hers until there was nothing left but burnt crumbs. Her father, however, was a bit lost in thought. He soon came to the realization that the spider he had taken to the ruins must have been somehow related to the monster in question. He felt pleased, knowing he had helped a fellow monster, even if she was one he thought relatively negatively about. "Well then, tell her she is very much welcome."

The next day, Fuku had apparently delivered the message, as she came to the bar earlier than usual. "She said she'd like to have you over for tea sometime," she said, the sly tone in her voice hinting something devious. He was once again slightly surprised. "Well then, tell her I would love to, but I don't enjoy crossing Waterfall, and tea would actually kill me. Perhaps she could come here instead. I'd be happy to serve her."

Fuku happily took this information, and once she came back after the next day, she had a response. "She said she can't. She has to look over her web and spiders. She'd still like to meet you, though." Grillby had his interest peaked at this point. While he was a rather reserved and silent monster, he still enjoyed meeting new people. "Well I would like to get to know her, as well. What is she like?"

Instead of answering, his daughter waited until she had asked the spider herself before returning with a response.

"Her name's Muffet," she informed. "She lives out in Hotland, runs a small bake sale she hosts every so often, and enjoys web building, cooking, baking, reading, drawing, and crocheting." Her main flame flickered for a second. "Sounds like a keeper, huh?" Grillby stopped cleaning his glass to look up at her. He knew what she was thinking, but he wasn't having it. Not now, anyways, as he hadn't thought of being in a relationship in years. "This is just a friendly conversation, sweetie. Nothing serious. Now, I want you to tell her that-" "No need!" Fuku interrupted. "I already told her everything she needed to know."

Oh no.

"What… did you tell her?" he asked slowly. "I said you liked cooking, drinking, managing your bar, long walks through Snowdin, dinner dates, and snuggling by a fire," she giggled. Grillby instantly turned a deep shade of blue, his flames burning bigger and brighter from sheer embarrassment. "Fuku!" he scolded, while also trying not to make a scene. "C'mon, dad," she whined. "It's been forever since you met someone."

"I'm not looking for a relationship, Fuku," he replied sternly.

"You haven't been interested since mom left," she retorted with a huff. "Well at least just think about it!"

"I would prefer if you stayed out of it," he muttered. "Now, the next time you see her, I want you to apolog-"

"No need," she interrupted once again, handing over a small slip of paper. "Here's her phone number." She gave him a pleading glance. "At least just give it a try." And with that, she left the building. In his frustration, Grillby merely crumpled the paper up and tossed it over to the trash can. The ball almost made it, had it not bounced off the rim and into a small space between the bin and the wall.

For the next two weeks, there was no conversation between the two monsters, and Fuku didn't report anything new. She claimed she had apologized, but knowing her, he doubted it. It wasn't until he was cleaning up one night when he found the paper again, all crumpled up and dusty. He sighed, remembering his frustrations of that night. Yet, he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty, just leaving the monster without a response. He tucked the paper into his vest pocket, deciding he may message her later, but not that day.

A few more days of silence had come and gone before he had finally decided to send a message to Muffet. He started out with something simple: a nice "Hello" would do the trick. Sure enough, within the hour, he got a response. He was slightly surprised to see she had written him "Bonjour", instead of the the traditional greetings.

The two soon hit it off, talking with each other as though they knew one another in real life. Most of the talk was rather small, but was still rather informative. While he was more quiet and reserved, responding in short, coy messages, Muffet seemed to be a bolder personality. She had no hesitation in thanking him for saving some of her spiders, while also being slightly critical for taking so long to respond. She also had no shame in hiding her origins, with each "yes" replaced with a "oui", or the same "bonjour" he'd get when they would start up a new conversation. She had even called him "Monsieur" and "dearie" at one point. He had to admit, he rather liked it, but he didn't say such a thing, unlike her. She quickly caught onto his reticent nature rather quickly, telling him she thought he sounded cute. That had him blue for a few minutes.

As the days passed, they talked more and more about themselves and each other. As Grillby would talk about his bar, Muffet would tell him about her dreams to open up a bakery of her own. He would describe his daughter, while she could go on about her over three hundred forty-seven siblings, all of them spiders. Their messaging became a daily habit for the bartender, and he would often take a quick moment from another of Sans' jokes just to reply to a text Muffet had sent. A few of his patrons had noticed this, but he would always brush it off once they brought it up.

Over the next few weeks, the two became rather close, to the point where Grillby felt as though he could open up a bit more to her, as well as help her when she needed advice. Even when they ran out of things to talk about, they continued to do it anyways, just for the pleasure of talking to one another through their only means of communications. More than once they had brought up the idea to just call, or perhaps send photos. However, both agreed it would be better once they met up in real life.

Soon enough, though, it all came to an end.

It was on the last day of their messaging, the human arrived. They came in and seemed rather nice. Sans pulled the ketchup prank as usual, and they left soon after. He didn't really expect to feel the barrier to the Underground break hours later, but it sure happened, and everyone was stunned.

During the next month, the messages between the two cooks had ceased, as they were both too busy trying to set up aboveground to really talk anymore. He didn't really mind having to move his entire bar, but it was easy once he had found an available empty building for a rather cheap price with the G he had saved up. Within thirty days, he had his bar ready and set up, good as new. He kept the building relatively the same, with almost nothing changed. A few monster had pegged him on to give it a new name, but he decided to keep it simple. That didn't stop Sans from calling it Grillby's 2: The Searquel.

Grillby was pretty much swarmed with patrons the moment he opened up shop. He barely had time to do much, but he at least got to meet a few more shopkeepers from around the Underground. Gerson, an old turtle from Waterfall, had a nice little antique shop set up a few stores down, and a small Temmie had set up her cardboard box store just outside his bar, which he didn't mind. He enjoyed meeting the two of them. So it was a bit understandable that he got a bit psyched when he noticed that the building next to his had been purchased. It turned out to be a small bakery, which he thought nothing of at first. He was rather surprised to see a rather petite spider woman come to greet him. He almost didn't recognize her.

"Hello," he greeted calmly as he approached her. "My name is Grillby. It's nice to meet you." They spider smiled giddily at him when he outstretched a hand.

Grillby's flame's flickered in surprise when he heard her reply, "Bonjour!" Blue flickered in his orange core, something she seemed to giggle at. She grasped his hand with two of her own. "Muffet. I believe we have met before, oui?"


	9. Day 9 - Alphgore (Undertale)

In times of stress, Alphys found it difficult to recover. As intelligent as she'd like to think herself, managing something as heavy as a stressful situation wasn't her strong suit, as it usually ended up in things spiraling out of control for her. Rarely could she face such a dire moment without either completely abandoning it or making a mess of herself and the situation. When she had first taken up the position for Head Royal Scientist, she had sworn to herself that the former wouldn't happen any longer; and yet, despite the circumstances, she had stuck to that rule, and was now trapped in the latter.

She honestly didn't know what to do anymore. She had made many mistakes in the past, but most could either be fixed with a simple recalculation or a redo. This, however, was something that could not be fixed, no matter how hard she tried.

She had been horrified at first, as one would expect. The way they trudged down the halls and disappeared into tiny cracks or imitate life and objects so realistically was something only straight from a nightmare. They could still speak, but it was all drowned out by their incessant white noise as they all talked to her at once. It was unbearable to even be around them, much less look at them. They had once been separate monsters, all with lives and hopes and dreams and families, and she had ruined it all with one stupid decision.

She did try to reverse the process, but only once. It was the Memory Head she had tried to separate, despite the fact she couldn't even tell which part was which. With a mix of a few chemicals, she worked on the monster amalgamate, trying to spit it apart. Indeed, it did split apart, but not in the way she had imagined. Now, there's three of the same monster, and she doesn't know how to change them back.

It was mere days later that she began to receive the phone calls. She answered them all at first, attempting to make excuses to the families about the conditions of their relatives. However, the questions soon became more stressful and hard to answer with each call, and mist ended up with her making an excuse to hang up. Within the next day, she had stopped answering calls completely. Letters went unanswered. She didn't travel outside of Hotland anymore.

She just wanted to be disappear.

When she heard a knock at the door a week later, she grew anxious, and at the same time, curious. She expected a family member of one of the monsters would be behind that door, ready to interrogate her and beat her up. Instead, she found a Whimsalot she had never seen before waiting outside her door. He gave her a letter before wishing her goodbye and leaving. She was confused at who the letter could have come from, until she was the official looking wax stamp on the front. Oh no.

She opened the letter hesitantly, as if something would pop out and hurt her. As expected, it was a summons. King Asgore himself requested her audience. Well, her time was obviously up. She could see no other reason why he'd summon her other than to fire her. She wanted to just hide under her bed and pretend that the letter didn't exist, but she couldn't ignore this. It would only be a matter of time before the king was at her door, demanding answers. So she dried up her falling tears, said goodbye to her precious lab, and ventured off to new home.

Alphys got lost at first, being unfamiliar with the place in question, but soon found herself at the king's doorstep. She sucked in any tears threatening to fall and knocked.

Seconds later, the king of all monsters appeared. Tall, broad, and a good six times her size, he was a sight to behold; he yet, he looked somewhat gentle.

Alphys expected to be fired right on the spot, but was surprised when she was invited inside his home. She stood silent in the doorway, watching him walk over to the counter of his kitchen to take off a boiling pot of tea. He smiled over at her, asking her to take a seat and offering her a cup of tea. She was obviously taken aback by the question, but graciously accepted. You don't just refuse tea from the king, after all, even if he was about to tell you off and tell you to pack your bags and leave.

Asgore hummed, taking a moment to prepare the cups, but once he did, he served Alphys her's as he sat down. Well, here was the firing part. But to her silent shock, he didn't say a word of it. Instead, he began to ask how she was feeling, and if she was alright. She was obviously taken aback, but still answered anyways, lying and saying she was fine and that everything was okay with her. He seemed slightly relieved, telling her that he had been worried after she stopped answering his calls and didn't respond to a letter she had sent. This was probably because she had ignored them. She was a bit embarrassed by this fault on her part, but still thanked the king and apologized for not contacting him. He found it to be quite alright and began to ask her about her work, making it simple and not putting to much pressure in his questions. She appreciated this and answered mostly truthfully, surprised by her king's generosity and kindness.

The conversation lasted only thirty minutes, but Alphys was left with a warm feeling in her soul by the end of it. Eventually, he was summoned away for his duties, but stopped to tell Alphys that he was there for her. He told her that should he ever needed someone to talk to, or someone to trust, he was there to help her. Ans with that, he left.

Alphys was smiling to herself after such a conversation, different kinds of tears springing up to her eyes. She never thought someone would care for her so deeply, but Asgore treated her as if he thought of her as one of his own. After a few minutes, she downed her tea and left, feeling a lot more confident about the situation at hand. For now, she needed to but dog food.


	10. Day 10 - Chasriel (Underfell)

It was over. It was all over. For Chara, at least.

It had been years since the last reset. In that time, things had settled between monsters and humans aboveground. She didn't actually think she'd see the day when the two races finally got along, but with Frisk's help, peace started to bloom in between both societies. Of course, there were tensions, but that was to be expected. However, to actually see monster and man converse once again and live amongst each other was truly a sight to behold. Chara, however, was always a bit pessimistic when it came to Frisk.

She had seen her host grow heartless when it came to the resets. Again and again, she had slain many of her family, and with the newfound LV, Chara had been changed with it here and there. But, soon enough, they grew unhappy. Frisk's curiosity, despite being endless, could not fill the hole that grew within her, no matter how many secrets she uncovered.

When Chara had been told there would be no more resets, she almost thought it was a joke. Frisk had lied about this many times before, and had gone back to her usual ways, but this time, she had seemed serious. She was determined, and Chara could feel it.

Years flew by, with each day her fears of another trip through the Underground growing. These fears didn't begin to fade until she realized the changes. She slowly watched Frisk grow as the years passed. She saw her father rule fairly and monsters begin to regress back into happier beings, ones who found it safe to start families and live among humans. Papyrus grew less violent while Alphys and Undyne found happiness together, even deciding to adopt a child together. Her mother finally moved on from the past, soon finally getting remarried, and to the skeleton of all people. After all these years, she finally came to terms that this was the future that was to be. Frisk really wasn't going to reset, and things really were turning out for the better. It was a future she hadn't expected, but one that helped her find peace within herself. For the first time in decades, she felt happy.

It was around Frisk's eighteenth birthday that she decided it was time.

"Are you sure?" Frisk asked, surprised at first, before donning a more somber expression. Chara merely sighed. "Yeah… I'm tired," she explained. "I just want to go home, you know?" Frisk seemed to understand what she was saying, giving a slow nod. "Yeah, I get it." She paused for a moment. "I'm going to miss you," she sighed. Chara couldn't help but feel warmth bloom within her. "I'll miss you, too, sis. But… there's someone I have to see." The girl she grew to knew as a sort of sister just nodded once more. "Alright… I'll be sure to tell mom. And dad. Goodbye, Chara."

"Goodbye. Stay determined."

And with that, she left. She was yet out of existence, but she could feel herself fading, and quickly at that. She didn't have much time left.

Within seconds, she was back in the Underground, in the place she had once known as home. As much of a hurry she was in, she still took her time, strolling through the many corridors and rooms she had come to memorize. From Hotland to Snowdin, they were all just as she remembered. She couldn't help but feel a certain happiness well inside her as she neared the Ruins. As expected, the old pillars and framed were more cracked and vine ridden than their last venture through the Underground. Before long, the entire Underground would be in such a state, but it didn't make it any less beautiful to see. There was always so fascinating about transition and moving on, but maybe it was just because of the condition she was in. Before long, Chara reached the end of the ruins, in the dark cavern she had first met Frisk, as well as Flowey. Speaking of which…

Chara found herself slowly approaching the room where it all began. She smiled, seeing a hint of yellow in the dim light that filled the darkened cavern. The buttercups were still alive, and seemed to have overtaken the majority of the light they grew in. It wasn't the flowers she was focused on, however; it was figure sitting idly within the delicate patch.

Dressed in red and black and sprouting two small horns from atop his head, Asriel hummed a gentle melody as he observed the small patch in contentment. It wasn't until he knew someone was approaching that he stopped and turned slightly to look back at her. Chara stopped in her tracks, exchanging a stare with Asriel as both were without sound. Eventually, a smirk broke across the boss monster's face.

"About time. Really took your sweet time, huh?" he chuckled, folding his hands on his lap. Chara just grinned, strolling over to him and sitting down with crossed legs. "Sorry," she apologized. "Resets. Pacifying monsters. Finding peace. You know how it is." Asriel glanced over at her, thumbing one of the petals on a particular flower he seemed to favor. He then let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I get it. You and you're excuses. I just wish you wouldn't take so long."

The girl watched him for a moment, before speaking up. "You waited," she smiled, looking happy for once in a long time. Asriel looked at her, blinking in surprise, before he smiled. "Of course I did. How would I not?" His smile turned into a grin. "I missed you, Chara."

Chara smiled softly, leaning close to him. "I… I missed you, too, Azzie." She frowned for a moment. "What… what happens now?" Asriel gave a small shrug, laying back in the flowers as he gazed up at the shimmering light that fell through the ceiling. "That's a question I've thought of for a long time," he sighed, looking at Chara. As bright as the sun was, she seemed to brighten up the cavern better than the hundreds of flowers that surrounded them. "It's a question no amount of resets can answer." He closed his eyes for a moment. "We'll just have to… see for ourselves." He peeked open an eye to watch Chara lie down beside him. And so, the two fell into silence once again, staring up at the falling light.

"I love you," Chara suddenly said, catching Asriel by slight surprise. But the goat merely smirked, glancing over at her. "Yeah, I figured," he chuckled, but the human wasn't yet done, glancing over at him with eyes shimmering with tears. "I missed you," she smiled. "And I'm sorry for being such a dumb ass." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I never wanted to hurt you. I just, well…" She opened her eyes to grin at him. "I wanted you to be happy. I missed the times we would spend together. I missed the times where mom and dad would huddle us on the couch and eat butterscotch pie. I missed your smile and the way you'd apologize after teasing me. I… I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Asriel whispered, a grin stretching his face as tears came to his own eyes. "All those years as a flower… I just missed you so much. I wanted nothing else but you… and it hurt me deep inside to hurt you the way I did. You made me happy, Chara. All these years I've been waiting for you to come back, and it's all been worth it." He pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm happy now that you're here. I feel as though I can finally rest." Chara choked on her tears, hugging him back tightly as she closed her eyes. "I love you, Asriel."

"I love you, too, Chara," Asriel whispered, closing his eyes as well. "I just… want to stay like this forever. With you." The girl gave a soft nod. "Then you don't have to wait anymore," she promised in a hushed voice. "Let's go. I'm feeling tired."

Asriel gave a soft nod in agreement in response, his arms wrapping tighter around the human in his arms. All that waiting seemed to not matter anymore not that she was here. He could finally feel peace bud within him. Chara smiled as she rested her head against his chest, letting all her worries and fears of the past just melt away as happy memories of their times together was all that she could think of. After being apart for so long, the two were finally reunited.

Asriel and Chara were silent, letting that tired feeling that had gripped them for so long take them over. They had each other, and that's all that mattered.

Within seconds, they were gone.


	11. Day 11 - Sansby (Underlust)

Sans sat up in bed, rubbing his eye sockets with soft yawn. If only waking up wasn't as such a bitch as going to sleep. He slouched some on the mattress, looking around the room, only to be surprised it was rather bright. In fact, it didn't even remotely resemble his room at all.

"Oh yeah," he chuckled to himself, realizing the small mistake. "My dumb ass." He looked over the side of the bed, reaching for his clothes that had been strewn about carelessly the night before. He quickly pulled on his jacket and shorts, giving another yawn as he went to the bathroom to check his appearance. A mess as always, but fuck if he wasn't a hot mess at that. After a few seconds of quick checking, he made a funny face to his reflection before walking out of the room.

Sans wasn't exactly the type to spend the night at another's home, thus explaining the mix up. No, he was a bit more informal; once the fuck was over, he usually dipped out at the first chance he got. It wasn't that he couldn't handle emotional attachment or opening up (which he couldn't, by the way), it was just how things were in the Underground. Those who stuck around and tried to bond were considered clingy. God have mercy on his brother, then. Other AUs may find it pointless or just plain stupid for such a thing to exist, and for the most part, Sans completely agreed with them. But, on the other hand, they could just blow him for all he cared.

The small skeleton looked at the direction of the door, wondering if he should face the host of the house for the first time. He didn't remember much of last night; there were ketchup shots and tears, from what he recalled. Not a good mix. Still, he knew a certain someone would be rather upset should he leave. So, instead, he gathered his strength and walked out of the room, and into the hall. Aligning the walls were family pictures, surprisingly enough. Most of them were of a monster and his kid, while a few were of a female he'd never met before. He wondered silently if she was ever the jealous type.

Sans braced himself as he walked the unfamiliar house, before coming to the kitchen, where he smelt food. Fuck, his mouth was salivating already. He grabbed the edge of the wall, slowly poking his skull to peak behind it.

Grillby, dressed in rather modest looking clothing, humming to himself as he made breakfast. From prior knowledge, he knew fire monsters didn't eat regular magic foods, as they preferred to stick strictly to alcohol. Sans felt his soul warm a slight bit, finding the feeling comforting, but also new and uncomfortable. He could still bail out now if he wanted to. Grillby would understand. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully.

Sans went back to the room he had awoken in, looking for his phone so he could leave without having to face Grillby. However, as he continued to search, it became increasingly apparent that his phone wasn't even in the room. A faint memory flashed in his mind of tossing his phone onto the kitchen counter as he was fighting to get his jacket off. Fuck. Maybe he could take a short cut while Grillby wasn't looking, snatch it up, and just dip.

However, it was becoming obvious to Sans that he may just have to suck it up and go talk to him.

Grillby looked up slowly from his phone as he saw Sans enter the room, a calm grin on his skull as always. The skeleton could spot a small smile appearing on his face as he gestured to a plate of food. "Glad to see you're still alive," he chuckled. "I made you some food."

Sans gave a small smile, sitting down at the table. "Thanks, Grillbz," he sighed, still tired from a long night. As he began to chow down, he took notice of the other's surprisingly concealing clothing once again. He had never seen the fire monster in anything that didn't scream "fuck me on the bar counter" before, so it was a new sight to him. The flame must have caught Sans' staring, as he couldn't help but chuckle again. "I had a great time last night," he hummed, putting down his phone to look up at his lover.

Sans stopped for a moment, looking down at his food. This was usually the part where he was supposed to lie and they would move on with their lives. Maybe arrange another session if they felt up to once. But now, Sans didn't feel as though he had to keep lying. For now, at least. "I had a great time, too," he admitted, looking up at Grillbly with a smile. The monster returned it, getting up to stroll over to Sans and stand behind him. The skeleton nearly flinched when he felt him unexpectedly touch his clavicle, but he was able to stop himself. Things were getting awkward again. He just quickly finished up his food and got up, ready to just say goodbye and make a quick escape to the exit. Grillby watched him silently as he made his way over to the couch, sitting with his legs crossed. He pat the seat beside him, inviting Sans over.

Sans clenched his phone tightly, looking back at the exit before gazing at Grillby. Alright, time to use the classic "Papyrus is sick" excuse. Works every time. "Listen, I…" he started, the lie already fully formed in his mind. However, it seemed to catch on his voice when he looked down at his phone to check the time. He had one unread message.

'I'M PROUD OF YOU, BROTHER.'

The other monster tilted his head. "Yes?" The skeleton looked at him for a few moments, before giving a wry smile and going over to sit next to him.

Grillby sighed contentedly and gently wrapped an arm to bring his little skeleton closer. Sans could feel that warm feeling again. He was starting to take comfort in it by now, finally finding himself being able to leaning against and relax into his partner. They stated like this for a couple of minutes, the smaller monster finding the silence and crackling flames rather soothing for once.

"I open up the nightclub in a few hours," Grillby informed him, breaking the calming silence. "Would you like to… do something until then?" Sans was silent, thinking to himself. Usually he'd just say yes in his usual compliance. But now, he felt as though he could be honest.

"Nah…" he sighed. "I just want to stay here with you." Grillby gave a small nod, bringing him in tighter as two relaxed on the couch. They spent the rest of the day just enjoying one another's company, and that was all there was to it.


	12. Day 12 - Mettablook (Undertale)

Mettaton approached the house slowly, furrowing his brow as he observed the familiar blue home, curved to symmetrically match the home he once called his own. Technically, it still was still his home, but he just didn't really find use for it anymore. In fact, after making it big with Alphys, he preferred to stay away from that spot altogether. However, he didn't exactly have much of a choice now.

Mettaton steeled himself, readying himself for the inevitable. With a slow hand, he knocked on the door, the rap itself sounding almost unsure of itself. It took a few minutes, but eventually, the door did slowly open to reveal his cousin, looking curiously up at him. Curiosity quickly turned into surprise as Napstablook backed away from the door a slight bit, having obviously not expected this sudden visit. "O-oh," was all he could really muster. "Hey…"

Mettaton gave him a wide smile, before grasping him with a tight hug. "Blooky! It's so good to see you again!" he cheered, soon pulling away. "Once I heard your voice on that phone, I knew I had to come right over, Blooky darling." He stopped a moment to think, looking to the side. "After the Underground was freed, of course. Couldn't miss an occasion such as that!" He looked back down at his cousin. "Well, I'm here now, and we're free." He bent down to his cousin's level. "How about some catching up; sound good?" Napstablook gave a quick blink, before answering with a slow nod. "Sure…" he said softly, going back inside, keeping the door open for Mettaton to cross through.

The ghost went to the center of his room, before going over to the fridge to be a generous host. "Would you like a ghost sandwich?" he asked, looking back at Mettaton, who just gave a sheepish grin. "Er.. I can't eat those anymore, darling," he explained, only to have Napstablook stand there for a couple of seconds before shutting the fridge door with a slight "Oh." He moved back to the center of the room, looking away from Mettaton as he was silent, letting a very uncomfortable awkwardness begin to settle in between the two. Still, the robot refused to let that be the mood.

"So, what have you been doing while I was gone?" he asked, sitting down and folding his hands in his lap. Napstablook blinked and looked over, before turning to his computer. "Listening to music. Making it." Waiting for Mettaton to come home. "Surfing the net. Taking care of the snails." Being alone. "That's about it. His cousin took this time to let out a soft chuckle, playing off an amused expression. "Same Blooky as I've always known, isn't that right?" he grinned. Napsta looked over at him, before turning away. "Yeah… I guess." Mettaton couldn't help but give a small grimace. If his cousin was good at one thing, it was definitely making conversations short and difficult. He had always been this way, really, but never to this extent. He just seemed so despondent now; out of touch with others. He wondered when the last time he had spoken to their other cousins were. Of course, that may not be as helpful as he'd like to think. He would have to bring them over later for a little reunion. "That's good to hear," he responded, keeping the smile on his face. Napsta didn't reply.

Silence reigned for the next few minutes as Metta attempted to think of anything to fill that empty void of a silence. However, to his surprise, it wasn't him who broke the silence next.

"Listen," Napstablook sighed, looking over at his relative slowly. "I… understand." Mettaton blinked and tilted his head, a silent request for elaboration. So the ghost continued on. "I get that… you have better things to do," he murmured, looking towards the computer screen. "I'm sorry about… you know… making that call. Forcing you to come all the way out here when you should be out with Frisk and their friends. You don't have to bother yourself with me anymore. I'm just…" He looked down, struggling to find the right words, "forgettable…" He looked up at Metta. "After all, your dreams can't wait for anyone, can they?"

Mettaton could immediately feel anger well up inside him. Not towards his cousin, though, but instead himself. For a moment, he wished he'd never had this body to begin with.

"Don't you say that!" he exclaimed, catching Blook off guard. He kept going. "You have no reason to apologize! I should be the one apologizing, not you!" His voice slowed, turning to its normal pace. "After all, it was… wrong of me… to just leave you like that." He looked away. "I had gotten so… caught up in the dreams I had been living in that I had stopped caring about the people around me. I grew… neglectful. And fearful of facing you. I just didn't want to see that hurt look on your face… or hear the disappointment in your voice. And after a while, I just… forgot about all of you. I got so obsessed with my own image that I didn't even stop to think of anyone else." He looked back over at his cousin. "Blooky, you don't know how eye-opening it was to hear your voice in the radio. Right now, now that we're free, all the fame and fortune; it doesn't matter. Not right now, and it will never be above you or any of my friends." He seemed to relax after such a confession. "I just want to spend time with you again. Like we used to, remember? I would like that more than anything."

Napstablook was silent for a moment, staring at his relative for a long while, as if processing everything he had just heard. Then, for the first time in ages, he smiled. "Would you… like to lay on the ground and feel like trash with me?" Mettaton blinked in surprise, before his face split into a smile. "I would love that more than anything, Blooky."

And with that, the two sprawled onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling. They knew things would turn out alright for them.


	13. Day 13 - Flowisk (Undertale)

Frisk hurriedly scaled up the path carved into the mountain, ignoring the aching in their legs in favor of getting up there faster. It wasn't so easy, seeing as they were lugging a backpack full of items as they climbed higher and higher on their weak feet. They didn't stop until they finally came to their destination: the entrance to Mt. Ebott. They could still recall grabbing Toriel's hand as she led them to somewhere better. Even though the events of the past were over, Frisk still came here every week.

Panting and heaving, they finally made it to the entrance, only to see Sans standing near the stony opening, the same grin on his skull as usual. "Heya kid," he greeted, overlooking the forests surrounding the mountains. "Short trip, wasn't it?" He looked back at Frisk, stopping at their expression. "What? What's that look for?"

Frisk just huffed, making their way over to him and looking down at the entrance to the dark Underground. Sans did the same, just watching his once bright and happy home look more like a prison as its shadows were untouched by the drifting sun. "You sure you want to do this, kid?" he asked, looking over at them for confirmation. "I mean… not everyone can be saved, kiddo." He knew first hand. Frisk gave him a stern look, before replying with a determined nod. "Definitely," they responded, looking back down at the entrance. "Everyone can be saved. Even him." Sans just gave a sigh, knowing he couldn't change their mind. "If you say so. I'll be right here to take you back home when you need it." Frisk smiled and gave Sans one last thanks before running into the cavern that led to the Underground.

As soon as Frisk was down there, they were hit by a wave of flashbacks, reminding them of every encounter and the happy times they and their friends shared. Still, they persisted through the memories, not finding time for a trip down that lane. They took a jog through New Home and weaved through the Core and Hotland, soon crossing through Waterfall, Snowdin, and eventually the ruins. Their steps slowed as they made it to a familiar dark cavern, with the only light coming from the sun from the hole above. The bright, shimmering light illuminated the single flower in the middle of the dark room, bent over slightly as if wilting. Frisk grinned and ran towards the flower, causing it to twitch and look over slightly.

"Flowey!" they greeted, coming to a stop once they reached the small flower. Flowey just looked away with a sigh. "Howdy… Frisk." Frisk plopped down on their rear, pulling the bag out in front of them and folding their hands in their lap. "So, how've you been doing?" they asked. Flowey looked up at them for the first time, but it was only so they could see him roll his eyes. "Just peachy," he spat. "I thought I told you not to come back here. Several times."

"Well I didn't listen all those times," the child chuckled, crossing their legs. "I brought a surprise for you."

Flowey didn't answer, as expected. Frisk grinned and pulled out a slice of pie from their inventory. It was a nice, golden butterscotch slice. "Mom made it, just for you," they smiled, taking a fork from their bag. That seemed to catch the flower's attention, as his stem straightened slightly. He looked at it for a few seconds, before shifting his gaze to Frisk. "For me, eh?" he asked, moving his vines a tad closer. They gave a nod. "Yup. It even has bits of snail in it, just for you." A small grimace cracked over Flowey's face, but it was betrayed when he leaned forward for a bite. Frisk quickly scooped up a piece on their fork, feeding the bite to him, which he chewed slowly. "Pretty good, huh?" they smiled, placing another bite on the fork. "Yeah yeah, just gimme more," he sighed, going in for more. This had become a weekly occurrence. Every week, Frisk would come with some pie Toriel had made for them and share it with the flower. While it had been greatly hard to get him to even have a taste when they first shared, Flowey was now much more forgiving. They knew it was time to start asking.

Eventually, Flowey finished a decent portion of the pie, before turning away anymore bites. Frisk didn't mind and just stored the items away for later, before rummaging through their bag for something else. Much to the plant's surprise, they ended up taking out a pot. A flower pot. From the smell, it was already filled to the brim with fertilized soil, just for him. Still, it didn't stop him from being anymore enraged.

"What the hell is that?" he spat, furious. Frisk's face fell some, but they had been expecting this type of reaction. "It's a flower pot," they said calmly. "Why the hell would you need that?" Flowey growled through gritted teeth.

"Well… I want to take you ba-"

"No."

"Flowey, you would be so much ha-"

"No!"

"Flowey, please-"

"I said no!" he snapped, anger coming to a boiling point. A vine shot from the ground, but instead of hurting Frisk, it smashed the pot into smithereens. They blinked in surprise, looking over at him.

"I am sick and tired of this," Flowey huffed, clearly enraged. "All these games and all this faux love and care! Just reset already!" Frisk just slowly shook their head, only adding to his frustration. "Why not? I'm done with all this! J just want to go back to the resets. I want to go back to playing with all my toys and battling you and being me again! I don't want to go with you! I don't want to go up to the surface! I don't care about my family or your god damn feelings! I don't need you or them. I- I… I…"

He was cut off by a small embrace from Frisk, hushing him into silence. He stared forward for a few minutes as the hug persisted, not saying a word. Well, not for long.

"I… I'm not ready," he sighed, turning away as soon as Frisk pulled away. "I just… I just need some time, okay? I'm… I just need some time alone okay?"

Frisk nodded and began to pick up the shattered remains of the pot, storing it in their inventory. They looked over at Flowey, who was once again facing away, but hey still smiled. "I'll be here when you're ready. I believe in you."

And with that, they left, leaving Flowey to his thoughts.


	14. Day 14 - Papyton (Undertale)

Mettaton was a bit of a snob, and he was willing to admit that. Hell, half the Underground knew that, and yet they still loved him. At first, he had thought it was admiration spawning from his vast array of talents. As it turns out, that was a good fifty percent of the reason why.

"You inspire and help people," Alphys had explained to him late one evening as she was fixing his coding. "Oh? How so?" he had responded, furrowing his brow. "Well, you gave everyone a person to turn to in the Underground," was her reply. "You gave everyone a monster to look up to and derive hope and joy from." Mettaton rather liked the sound of that, at it actually caused his soul feel warm the next time he stepped on stage, knowing he was the reason everyone was there and why they all seemed so joyous. However, there was one particular fan that he seemed to have inspired more than anyone.

When the robot first met Papyrus, it was overwhelming more than anything. Sans had told him beforehand that his brother was probably his biggest fan, with an entire MTT action figure play set to boot. Mettaton did find it rather sweet and flattering, if not a tad bit odd, seeing as he was an adult. Well, he tried to not let that get in the way of his judgement of Papyrus, but by Asgore's crown, he was a handful. When he wasn't talking about himself, he was rambling about how cool Mettaton was or how much he hated his brother's habits. Luckily, this robot was just beginning to master the art of nodding his head with the occasional "mmhmm" without really listening. Judging from Sans' expression, he was practically a pro veteran at it. It also got a bit annoying when Papyrus insisted on talking to him as he was leaving Toriel's residence. However, things got interesting when this bit of half-shouted blithering nonsense reached him.

"And so I, The Great Papyrus, invite you on a date with me!"

Mettaton had to stop for a moment, furrowing his brow as he looked over at Papyrus, mouth quivering. He couldn't help himself this time. He let out a laugh, covering his mouth as he did so. Papyrus blinked, tilting his skull. Eventually, the robot recovered.

"Sorry, Pappy, darling. You're… not my type."

Papyrus seemed to frown slightly, and Mettaton was preparing himself for either a flood of tears or more insistence from the skeleton. However, Papyrus just went about smiling again. "No matter! I'm sure you will be happy settling for second best!" he declared, before just walking away with a hum and a skip in his step. Of all his years of watching shitty anime with Alphys and cheesy break up lines from movies, never had he seen someone take a rejection so well. Perhaps he was just as dumb as he thought.

Months soon passed him by, and surprisingly to him, Papyrus left him alone. Sure, he could still here the skeleton's incessant chatter from a mile off if he wanted to, but he sort of just stopped bothering Mettaton. Sure, he gave a grand hello and even struck up a conversation every now and again, but that was the extent of it before he just left to go talk to his brother or Frisk. Guilt did begin to set in, and he wondered if he had hurt the poor monster's feelings that hard. Alphys did give him a bot of a scolding about sensitivity, so he decided to try and make it up to him. Alphys and Undyne's wedding were coming up, and he needed someone to bring with to the ceremony; he couldn't just go alone, of course. While his first pick wasn't Papyrus, it was definitely his final once everyone else was ruled out as a possible candidate. Sure, people such as Sans and Frisk were available, but he still had a reputation to keep up. Papyrus would be fine.

He had thrown a few hints towards Papyrus during the weeks leading up. There were a few flirts here and there, and eventually came to an invite. While the skeleton was quick to catch onto the flirts, he seemed genuinely surprised when he was actually asked to go with him.

"I just need a bit of help, Pappy," he explained.

"Really? You're coming to me for help?" the other replied. That was a bit off from what the robot had expected. The skeleton soon returned to that cheery state of his, as normal. It almost seemed on reflex to that discouraging statement.

Mettaton helped Papyrus dress appropriately, and for the sake of his friends, he didn't go too overboard with it. Papyrus seemed ecstatic to be going, and wouldn't stop talking about how fun it would be. When the day came, though, it went a bit differently than Metta thought it would.

As soon as they entered the ceremony, Papyrus left him to go talk to others before the reception started. Once it did start, however, Papyrus was sure to sit beside him. Afterwards, he seemed to be having a rather great time, talking to his friends and dancing with Frisk. Mettaton himself joined in on a few conversation, and that's when he finally noticed it, three-fourths into the reception. Whenever someone would mention Mettaton to Papyrus, or talk about how they came together, there was always a brief flash across his skull. It was barely noticeable, and appeared for just a split second, but it was definitely there. His sockets would shift away and his skull would turn slightly as his clavicles shifted upwards, almost in a tense fashion. Within a second, he would quickly go back to smiling widely and chattering on. He just bounced back like a ball. It was at these small moments that Mettaton realized just how uncomfortable Papyrus was. Just watching him avoid all eye contact with the robot was starting to make him drop out of the mood entirely.

Alphys and Undyne had just left when Mettaton approached him again. "Do you… want to leave?" he asked slowly. "I can take you home, if you'd like." Papyrus blinked in surprise and smiled with a proud look. "Ah, tired, I see? No matter! I, The Great Papyrus, will accompany you on this trip to my place of residence!" Well, he didn't refuse. After informing everyone else, they left, Papyrus humming a song as Mettaton walked in silence.

"I had a great time!" Papyrus finally commented, breaking the silence. The robot looked over at him suspiciously. "Did you?" he asked. The skeleton nodded rapidly. "Of course I did! Why wouldn't I?" he asked. Mettaton decided to be blunt with it. "Well, because I turned you down a few months earlier." He could see Papyrus' mouth twitch as he struggled to respond. "That is no matter," he boasted. "As it clearly shows, you do indeed have feeling for me! I knew this ever since I asked you out!" His sockets shifted away for half a second. "I knew you had feelings for me before I asked you out! I love this fact, as well as repeating it!" Mettaton stopped in his tracks for a moment, causing the other to stop as well. It was around this time that he was beginning to think Papyrus was the more mature of the two. The robot had laughed in his face, rejected him, and was just taking him to the ceremony like he was some arm piece. He didn't stop to consider that someone such as Papyrus knew how to feel embarrassment, and he felt like hell even thinking about that idea. And here Papyrus was, lying to his face to try and make him feel better.

Well, when life screws up a scene, there's always retakes.

"Hey, Pappy, would you like to go on a date?" he asked suddenly, unable to stop himself if he wanted to. The skeletons seemed genuinely surprised by the offer, but smiled widely. "I would love to, Mettaton!" That was the expression of someone who didn't believe the words coming out of their own mouth. Still, Metta grabbed his gloved hand and gripped it with a smile. "It'll be great. I promise." Papyrus once again agreed, and Mettaton promptly took him home.

A week later, they went out on that date. Papyrus took him to his favorite place: his house. Despite what one might expect, Mettaton actually had a good time. Papyrus was not only confident and a gracious host, but quite forgiving of all mistakes and encouraging in every aspect. He was just a thin frame of joy and inspiration, something the machine valued in himself. Sure, the date was a little bumpy, but both agreed things would get better as time moved on and they worked on themselves more, something Mettaton would never have guessed by just skimming the surface.


	15. Day 15 - Grillster (Underfell)

"Aw, c'mon, Gri- hic! -llby! Just another round," the drunk slurred, grinning in a half-pleading fashion as he nursed his already warm drink. He had been persisting at this for a good five minutes, and wasn't about to lose when he still had G to spend. The bartender, however, was "I don't want to hear it," Grillby huffed, persisting on shooing the drunken monster away from his seat. The tipsy monster slurred something unintelligible before slipping and crashing out of his seat with a groan. The chair broke due to the force of the fall, breaking one of the small beams connecting the legs and causing a leg to crack into two. The flame felt his anger rise as he began to turn a deep shade of red, ready to finish the monster on the spot, but calmed himself just in time. Instead, he growled in frustration and bent down, grabbing the monster's wallet. "For damages," he grumbled, taking out the stash of G and tossing the emptied case back to the drunk still struggling to get up. He seemed sober enough to understand what had just happened, though, as his complaints were immediate. "H-hey! Gimme my m-moneeey back!" he slurred, wobbling on his two feet. "Oh please. You were going to waste it on booze, anyway. Probably going to get yourself killed as well," Grillby sighed, storing the G away. "Besides, you've stayed way past your welcome and you broke my stool. I'd say you deserve it." The bumbling fool stumbled toward him angrily. "You can't do that!" he growled, looking as though he was preparing for an attack. However, he was caught off guard by Grillby grabbing him by the neck. "Listen, It's five in the fucking morning," he warned, his voice low. "I am done with all of you. Now get out!" And with that, he threw the monster out the front door, giving a huff as he went back inside, taking a moment to survey his establishment. It wasn't as messy as some would think, but there would definitely be clean up involved. Might as well start now.

As Grillby was finishing picking up the place a good fifteen minutes later, he heard the doors open. A faint smile appeared in his flame as his hearing recognized the slow, stiff, almost calculated steps of his favorite patron.

"I don't suppose you have a bit of time for one more drink, hmm? Perhaps two?" Gaster hummed, already taking a seat on one of the intact stools. The flame forgot about the broom he had been handling, dropping it off to the side to pay attention to something a tad more interesting. "Oh, only if you have the G," he chuckled, moving to his place behind the counter, folding his arms on the counter. Tired red eyelights flicked up the the bartender, his left phalanges drumming rhythmically along the surface of the counter while his other hand fiddled with his dirtied coat, stained with a faint red here and there. "G? Well, I'm afraid I must have left my money at home," he sighed, feigning sorrow. "Perhaps a trade would suffice?" With a small grin, the skeleton quickly pulled a glass bottle of liquor, the bottle itself rather thick and intricate in design. It must be something good. Grillby took it up, unable to help the smile that tore though his usually smooth surface. "Well, as much as I appreciate it, I am a bartender," he chuckled, glancing away from the bottle. "Then let's call it a… small gift, then," Gaster compromised, waving a dismissive hand. "Besides, it's one hundred ninety proof." That seemed to catch the other's interest. A higher proof alcohol was a treat for most heat-based monsters, as the drink contained more alcohol than it did any other substance they threw in. It was like drinking rubbing alcohol. "Really? Now how on earth did you get you slimy, bony fingers on something like this?" he asked, tempted to pop the bottle open for a sip right there, but decided to save it for a more special time, when he was feeling in the mood for a treat.

"The trash heaps of Waterfall," Gaster answered, folding his hands as he gave a small yawn to show his readiness to sleep on the spot. "Since you can't exactly look yourself, I have to look for the both of us." Grillby put the bottle in his inventory, the torn smile forming a smirk as he turned to pour the skeleton the usual: a small, square glass of Scotch, no ice. "Oh? Is the genius and evil Gaster becoming soft? Giving presents and such?" he teased, causing the skeleton to just roll his eyelights as he took his drink and had a few sips. "Nevermind you. So, how's the bar?" he asked.

"Fine enough," he replied. "How's the lab? I see you've worked another tireless night."

"Disastrous, but still successful all the same. How is the girl?"

"A brat as always. How are the boys?"

"Sans is being difficult with the tests, but otherwise fine. What's with the broken stool."

"A drunk. Nothing special. What's with the red stains?"

"I've been experimenting with a new chemical. So a dull day for you?"

"Mostly," he sighed. "But you know how I enjoy the business. Sure, there are a few annoying ones, but that's natural. Besides, the day always tends to get better once you come along." Gaster blinked and looked away for a moment as a smile grew, his skull flushing a tint of red. Once he had looked back at Grillby, he was slightly surprised to see him leaning in close, a devious smirk crossed over that face, with a wanting look in the eyes that topped over the glasses he wore. "I'm about to close up," the flame informed. "Finish up and give me what I want, Gaster. Before we head out." Gaster gave him a sly look, but was quick to comply, gulping down the rest of his drink before leaning in to meet him for a kiss. It lasted only a second, but the drug-like affect it seemed to have in the skeleton seemed to be proof of its work. Grillby seemed satisfied and began to close down the bar. Gaster followed suit, leaving his stool, straightening his coat, and waiting by the door for the other to be done.

Soon enough, the bar was closed. It was almost six at this point, and Grillby was looking forward to a nice date with his bed after sending his girl to school. Gaster exited the establishment, with the purple fire monster in tow. However, just as Grillby had turned the last lock to the building, he blacked out for a moment.

The next thing he knew, all he could feel was pain. For once, he felt cold. Nothing but cold. He was lying in the snow, vision blurry, but he could still feel his own body diminishing with every second passing by. He could hear a muffled should of surprise, barely able to concentrate on anything anymore as he felt as if he was about to fall.

Gaster barely had time to process anything. One moment, he's watching Grillby close up the bar, and the next, a monster appears from behind the corner and throws a bucket of water on them. Not even half a second later, he heard and unnatural, gurgled screech as his friend fell to the snow, the bright light that had once illuminated be dark space now fading, and fast.

From pure instinct, Gaster grabbed the soul of the perpetrator. He recognized the fiend as some drunken monster, a frequenter of the bar. That didn't matter. His sockets flashed a deadly red, something large already forming behind him, and before the monster could even get a word or beg out, he was immediately incinerated by a summoned Gaster Blaster. Dust fell to the ground scattering in the snow.

Now onto more important matters.

Grillby was dying. His flames were barely even half his original size now, growing smaller and smaller as his body shut down from not being able to sustain itself the only real solid part was the purple soul, which was quickly beginning to fade into white from the cold snow. Gaster cursed loudly, scooped up the soul to try and keep it warm, and quickly wretched a piece of wood from the window frame, as anything on the ground would bee too wet. He hurriedly wiped it of snow and steadily placed it near the rapidly depleting flames of the discoloring soul.

"Fucking hell, Grillby," he whispered when the flames wouldn't take to the wood at first. "You better not die on me. Please don't die on me." The flames still didn't take. "I need you," he whispered. "Your kids needs you. Don't you did on me. Not now."

Slowly, the tip of the wood began to blacken, a good sign. Eventually, the wood began to burn, and a small purple flame appeared on the end. Gaster gave a gasp of relief, quickly unlocking the door to the bar and shutting it with a slam; locking it. He moved at a brisk walk, shielding the small flame and soul with his hand so the wind wouldn't blow them out. "Don't worry, Grillby," he whispered, moving to the broken stool and grabbing the shattered leg. "I won't let you die. I've got you." He grabbed the bottle of high proof alcohol he had gotten him, popping out the cork and dribbling it along the plank of wood, causing the fire to grow in size considerably. The soul was quickly placed in the fire to warm it. He added the leg to that fire, watching it slowly burn.

"I bet you really regret moving to Snowdin now, don't you?" he grunted to the steadily growing fire. The soul was still a very faded purple, almost a soft lilac. Gaster's soul gripped at the thought of Grillby having already fallen; he couldn't lose him. Not now and not ever.

He got up to get more wood, and once he came back, he was shocked to see the soul even more discolored than before, a sign of a dying monster. He sat close to the fire, trying to stoke it as much as possible with wood and fire, but he soul wasn't getting any better. Gaster wasn't ready to give up, though.

"Y-you're going to be fine," he said to the flames, his voice shaking slightly. "I won't let you die." To his surprise, the flames rose a bit more. Gaster smiled. "I won't let you die, Grillby. I need you," he continued. "Me. Your daughter. We both need you." Without much thought, he stuck his boned hands into the flames, gently wrapping around the dying soul with a gentleness he hadn't shown in decades. "You're safe with me. You're going to live, or else I wouldn't be able to live without you. You're not dying on me. Not today." Words like these were repeated, not minding the burning of his bones. To his glee, when he took another peek at the soul, some of the color was restored. This seemed to be doing the trick. He continued his words of assurance and devotion, feeling that once empty soul of his pulse once, almost in sync with the soul in his hands. "You're not going to die," he continued to whispered. "Not now. Not ever. I won't let you." He closed his sockets, a smile creeping up on his skull. "I need you just as much as you need me right now."

These words were repeated over and over, echoing out into the flickering darkness, illuminated only by the steady flames that Gaster was now hunched over. He gently placed soul back, not stopping his whispering as he saw the shades of the once dying soul brighten even more. And so he watched the flames, forgetting about duties and work and sleep. Right now, it was just him and the fire.


	16. Day 16 - KingDings (Underfell)

**I know it's a day late, but I was really tired yesterday and today. I wanted a good KingDings, and the Undertale one I made last night was just… shit. I hated it. So you're going to get a double upload tomorrow. 17 and 18. Don't worry about it all you Frans Fans.**

* * *

"Just move the three, carry the two, find the square root and… done."

Gaster set the pencil down with a huff, taking a quick look over the small symbols scrawled across the page; mere nonsense to any normal monster, but pure innovation to his sockets. "Perfect," he murmured to himself, taking the paper and sliding it into a folder, giving a quick sigh before getting up from his seat and making his way out of the lab. King Asgore was a rather impatient monster. He had been calling for an update on the skeleton's work for a good week now. Making him wait any longer would surely call for his execution.

Gaster hurriedly made his way to the elevator, reaching the top floor within a good half minute of waiting. He wasted no time in rushing through new home to get to the throne room, cursing that there be no faster alternative through the winding halls. Perhaps he should make plans to install an elevator in New Home as well. He was sure the denizens of the Underground would appreciate it, even if they weren't all that appreciative in the first place. However, that was not important right now. What was important was making up pitiful excuses as to his lateness just so he wouldn't add the the collection of dust spread across his flowers. Upon entering the throne room, Asgore was there, as expected.

He sat upon his throne, seated in empty patch of tile as he was surrounded by hundred of small golden flowers. Asgore himself was a gigantic monster, towering over even him. Dressed in blacks and reds and with sharp canines the size of an icicle, he was intimidating, even to one as feared as Gaster. Those yellowed eyes were already trained on him, shadowed over by that mane of black hair. The skeleton did not shy away, however. He stopped at the beginning of the grassy area, just before the flowers.

"Sire," he spoke, sounding firm and strict. "I have the report. I apologize for my tardiness. You see, I was caught up in-"

"I care not for your excuses," Asgore rumbled, closing his eyes for a moment. "And I rather you speak to me up close. Come here." He cracked open an eye to peer at him. "Oh, and you know how it goes. Do not step on a single flower."

Gaster's usual calm façade dropped slightly as he looked down at the miniature field of flower. Asgore absolutely loved the little shits and would decimate a village just to keep them safe. Royal workers were no exception. He took in a short breath of air, before slowly stepping in between the flowers of a small patch. He gritted his teeth, balancing on one leg until he was able to find a safe place for the other one. Once he was on two stable feet he immediately began to take cautious steps forward, more than once having to fling his arms out to the side and swing them around until he regained balance. He heard a booming laugh erupt from the dark king when he was stuck in a particularly embarrassing position of being bent a good one hundred twenty degrees backwards with his legs bent like a flamingo's, his arms swinging like fans, and his mandible hung open as a helpless cry of fear rang from him. It wasn't until he regained his balance that he found himself absolutely red in the skull. Asgore took great pleasure in seeing him prance around like the royal fool. Still, the thought that he made everyone else do this as well made him feel a bit better about it.

After some more skipping and hopping and dancing around like a lobotomized ballerina, he was just near Asgore and his throne. He just needed to take a quick leap, and he would be in front of the king and they could resume with business as normal. With a quick exhale, he took the chance and jumped forward.

Luckily, Gaster landed on his two feet. Unluckily, he wobbled and fell forward, falling square into Asgore's lap. It took a moment for him to recover, but once he did, he scrambled to get back up and apologize profusely. However, he was forced to stop when he felt a large hand pressing down on his lumbar vertebrae, holding him down and keeping him from coming to a stand. He blinked in surprise, confused at first. "Sire?" he murmured, thinking it some mistake as he attempted to get up. He placed his hands upon Asgore's thighs, attempting to force himself to a stand, but he king's hold stayed firm. He looked up at the ruler, becoming increasingly nervous. "M-my liege?" Asgore just grinned down at him, his expression almost devious as Gaster grew more flustered.

"My king! I have the- whoa." The captain of the royal guard, Bracket, stopped in his tracks upon seeing the scene. Dressed in his usual royal armor with a small portfolio in one hand. Gaster was now desperately trying to wriggle out of his grasp to save face, blushing madly. Asgore, however, kept a straight face. "Ah, Bracket. Come to turn in the daily report? Come, come. Hand it in."

Despite barely standing the embarrassment, Gaster looked back at the guard, watching him look at the two with an unsure expression. But, upon his king's command, he came to the throne, straight through all the flowers. He gawked in shock. For a decade, and entire decade, never had Asgore allowed him to do such a thing. He had to skip and hop his way through the field of flowers, lest he be dusted on the spot. Was that just with him?

Bracket slowed to a stop, slowly handing in the folder to his king, before giving an awkward goodbye and leaving. Once his footstep faded, only then did Asgore let the poor skeleton go. Gaster shot straight up, accidentally dropping his own folder on the ground in his attempt to straighten his coat and calm his racing mind. After that, he bent down to collect the scattered documents. "Here," he muttered curly, shoving the documents to the king, which he silently accepted. He looked back at the door, then at the flowers, then back at Asgore. "Sir. How long have you…?"

"Forever, Doctor Gaster," Asgore chuckled, resting his chin on his palm on the arm of the throne. Gaster's sockets narrowed. "Then why have me go through looking like a fool for you every time I enter!" Asgore remained calm, despite the skeleton's rising voice. "What can I say? I enjoy watching you dance for me."

Gaster flushed, speechless as he attempted to get something out. Asgore sat back with a light smirk. "Consider this little even your punishment for not turning in your work, sooner. And for not visiting me more often. He gave the monster a quick wink. "You are dismissed."

He didn't gave to be told twice. Gaster gazed over at the flowers. "Sire, may I…?"

The king nodded. "As long as you promise me you'll come around more often. You're always cooped up in that lab of yours all day."

Gaster gave a curt nod, quickly walking out without another word. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get his projects done faster. For his sake.


	17. Day 17 - Frans (Underswap)

**Keep going.**

"Halt, human!"

The child stopped in their tracks, raising their head slightly to watch him. Sans stood in the fog, just barely visible to them, but he was unmistakable. That small stature, that firm stance, those glowing blue rings of magic; that bothersome skeleton could be recognized from outer space.

 **Keep going.**

The human decided to pay no mind, walking towards the skeleton. Sans wore the usual expression of annoyance.

"I said halt! I, the Magnificent Sans, have something to say!"

 **Oh?**

Sans took the small tilt of their head as a sign he had their attention. He cleared his voice, crossing his arms. "Allow me to say one thing, first: you're really freaking screwball!"

 **He's come to insult you.**

The human's crimson eyes narrowed slightly, showing a expression of distaste as that smile curled downward into a scowl. If Sans was actually smart enough to recognize the glare, he obviously didn't mention it. He just continued to ramble as always. "You don't like puzzles, riddles, japes, enigmas- nothing! You always slump around with your hand covered in this weird dusty powder. And you never do anything else besides smile. Don't you know that's creepy?"

 **Keep going.**

Sans blinked in surprise. "See! This is exactly what I'm talking about!" he huffed, pointing to the now closer human before him. To their slight interest, his expression grew worried. "Human, I'm concerned about you. I'm afraid you're… veering off the right path."

 **He's going to attack you. Keep going.**

Sans took a small step back, that usual permanent grin twitching slightly. Still, he persisted. "Human, please listen." He let out a small, but very tense sigh. "I'm afraid you need to be taught a lesson. And who better to be your tutor than I, the Magnificent Sans?"

 **Get your knife ready.**

"So I will teach you. I will get you in the straight and narrow once again, because I believe you can do it." He closed his sockets, being too stupid to notice the approaching human. "And so, with my help, you'll get better!" His grin widened. "And you'll truly learn to appreciate your friends! Rest assured, human, I will stick with you as long as it takes, because I still believe in you!"

 **Keep going.**

He opened his sockets. "Oh! Is that a hug of acceptance you're offering to me? Wowzers! My lessons are already working!" He stretched out his arms. "I accept you with open arms, human!"

They clenched the knife tighter, the wide smile returning. If they could take down Asgore with a single hit, Sans would be dust before he hit the ground. They ran forward to the skeleton, ready to move on.

 ***Sans is sparing you.**

Chara stopped, the smile faltering once again. They blinked in surprise, stepping back for a moment. Sans stood there, arms agape as he happily awaited an embrace from the other. They hesitated and waited for him to attack, or to even move. He didn't budge an inch. Their brow furrowed in confusion. Frisk was silent as well, waiting for the skeleton to make the first move and hurt them already. Nothing happened. Still, suspicion reigned in their soul, as they knew the moment they let their guard down, he would attack.

Nothing happened.

 **He's… he's tricking you. Kill him now.**

But Chara hesitated, unsure for the first time since they'd hurt the Ruins.

 **Fine… check him.**

So Chara, letting her guard down for a moment, checked Sans. This would give him enough time to strike them with a quick bone attack.

 **Sans**

 **ATK: 5**

 **DEF: 5**

 ***Forgettable.**

Chara quickly looked up at Sans, noticing he was still standing in the same position, though his expression had fallen slightly. He looked worried. Even when he had the opportunity to attack, he still refused to take it for some reason.

 **What's wrong with him? Why isn't he attacking like everyone else?**

They stared. They stared and they waited, trying to catch him attack or say something. This wasn't right. Frisk knew it in their soul that something was up. This wasn't the Underground they'd left. So why was Sans, of all monsters, wasn't just going to spare them out of the blue, when even their own father would have them killed just to prove some stupid goddamn point. They had killed so many monsters just to get past their him; Papyrus knew of their intentions, and every monster they slaughtered had fought them until the end. Everyone wanted them dead, and so did Sans, they just knew it. They felt anger surge through them, a feeling they hadn't experienced in so long.

This was not happening. Sans was lying. He was lying, just like everyone else.

 **Keep going.**

Readying their blade, Chara stepped forward. Sans' grinned widened, still not moving an inch, even when they sprinted towards him. They swung their arm back, preparing for one single strike. Right across the chest, just like Asgore.

It wasn't until they were about to collide that Sans' expression finally fell.

.

..

…

 _DEAR PAPYRUS,_

 _I KNOW YOU TOLD ME TO STAY AWAY FROM THE HUMAN, AND I'M SORRY, BUT YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT THEM._

 _NO MATTER HOW MANY PUZZLES THEY SKIP OR MONSTERS THEY HURT, I BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. ANY BAD PERSON CAN CHANGE IF THEY JUST TRY, AND I ASK YOU TO TRUST ME ON THAT. I KNOW THAT WITH ENOUGH DETERMINATION, I CAN GET THEM TO TURN THEIR LIFE AROUND. I'LL BE BACK BY DINNER._

 _AND IF NOT, THEN I SUPPOSE YOU'RE RIGHT._

 _AS ALWAYS._

 _THE MAGNIFICENT SANS._

Papyrus looked over the letter, silent for a moment, before gazing at the scene before him. The letter dropped out of him hand, as his mind was still reeling.

"Look Papyrus! I did it! I actually did it!" Sans cheered, on his knees as his arms were wrapped around he crying human. He embraced them tighter, letting out a nervous laugh. "Mweh heh, I have to admit, I got a little frightened there." He looked up at his brother. "But everything's fine now! I fixed it!"

Papyrus said nothing, just staring at the two.

Sans lowered his skull, closing his sockets with a sigh of relief, giving the human a gentle pat to try and calm their sobs. "Everything… everything's fine now."

 **…**

 **I don't want to keep going anymore.**


	18. Day 18 - NicePants (Undertale)

Have you ever seen someone fuck up their lives so quickly in so little time? Sure, it might be hilarious, even called deserved for the one in particular being so foolish, but it's not so great when it happens to you. That's the lesson he learned the hard way upon chasing that all too common dream of finding fame. Now he was stuck in a dead-end job, with the worst boss in the on the surface, and such loving customers that got easily impatient and threw a fit the moment they realized taxes were still a thing. All of this and more were wrapped in a tightly bound bundle and shoved up his ass at the ripe age of nineteen. Why yes, he's regretted all of his life decisions to this point, and no matter what he does, each action only leads to that giant goddamn bundle growing to be an even bigger pain in his ass.

However, ever since he turned twenty, there was one decision that hadn't completely bent him over the cash register. And while he wasn't all too sure if it really was the right decision, it wasn't exactly like he had much to lose.

It started on a particularly boiling day in Hotland. If was the day they were all freed, if he could remember correctly. He had been at his counter, as usual, serving a few customers, cigarette clenched between his teeth. Luckily, no one in the hotel was a snitch, and because he was sure Mettaton was too busy to come by and check him, smoking here was fine. Relaxing, in fact. The nicotine helped relax his nerves as he dealt with a rather grating patron. Small, squishy, purple, and weird looking, the kid just kept asking him questions. Even when he tried to drive them off with the "I can't talk without you buying" excuse, they bought an entire inventory's worth of Glamburgers just to ask him some more questions. It's wasn't all too bad. They seemed genuinely interested, and he even got to give a key piece of advice: don't screw up your entire life at the age of nineteen. The kid soon wandered off, fucking around the rooms and in the restaurant before marching out the back door. Didn't really matter what he did, as long as he got a little peace, but it was soon interrupted by someone he didn't quite recognize.

"Woowee! Hot day outside, huh?" the blue rabbit monster sighed, pressing both palms against the table top as he let out an exaggerated sigh. The cat blinked in surprise, but quickly hid the cigarette behind his back and forced a small smile. "Well, it is Hotland, you know," he pointed out, shaking slightly as froze the smile onto his face. The rabbit gave him a bit of an odd look, but it wasn't necessarily in the usual uptight way he usually saw. "Yeah, and perfect for a good Nice Cream, am I right?" he grinned, flicking his eyes around the hotel before landing them on the other monster. "Er… Burgerpants?"

Yeah, that's right, Mettaton got him a name tag that said "Burgerpants". Best boss ever, amarite? The rabbit raised a brow, looking up at him. "Is that your real name?" Burgerpants' face remained the same small smile. "Look, sir, I'm not allowed to talk to you unless you buy something," he told him, still shaking very lightly. That smile didn't fall off the rabbit's expression, and he pulled out an ice cream treat. "You sure I can't buy your name with a Nice Cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart!"

Burgerpants remained unimpressed. "Sir." The vendor just chuckled and placed the treat on the counter. "Get me a Starfait. I'm in the mood for something good." The cat obliged and the food was purchased, which was quickly stored in the patron's inventory. "So, can we talk now?" the Nice Cream Vendor grinned, leaning over the counter with a grin. Burgerpants' expression morphed into an unsure one, before becoming a wide, twitchy grin. "Gee, whaddaya wanna know?" he replied, wondering if this was going to be the exact same conversation with the kid he'd seen not ten minutes ago.

The conversation was actually rather normal. Getting some basic questions of how're you doings and what it was like in Hotland were tossed around here and there. He was apparently from Snowdin, where his Nice Cream wasn't being sold so well. However, the Hotland business was booming for him. "I only got a few bars left," he chuckled. "Got one for you if you want it." Burgerpants just gave a small laugh, brushing the offer off. After that came the question of his nickname, which he was sort of forced to explain once again. Sure, it was a bit of a painful memory, but he still told it just for laughs. It wasn't often that people actually cared about the life of a nineteen year old drop out.

"So if that's your nickname, what's your real name?" he prodded. The other monster just gave a simple laugh, his face morphing into a new expression. "As far as my job's concerned? It is my real name!" he laughed. For the first time, the rabbit frowned for a moment, before the smile returned once again. "Well then, how about taking a break?" he suggested. "Like I said, I've still got a few bars for us to enjoy. After all, it's such a beautiful day outside."

All Burgerpants could really see was molten lava and monster, but sure, whatever you say, pal.

"And get fired? Ha! Okay, buddy," he laughed, bringing the cigarette up to his teeth once again and chomping down. "Listen, buddy, I've already wasted a good chunk of my life. I still need to hang onto what I have left."

The rabbit didn't grimace or glare as he had expected, but instead just shrugged. "Well then, if you say so." He grabbed his Nice Cream, taking out his Starfait to drink a bit of it. "I'll be just outside. At the cart." He twisted to leave. "By the way, the name's Guy. It was… it was nice to meet you." And with that, he turned and walked away, drinking down his treat.

Burgerpants felt slight regret for practically forcing this guy away, he'll admit, but he wasn't about to lose his job over it. Even if this was the nicest guy he'd met… ever. And without being able to actually eat the food he made, he was genuinely thinking of taking up the bunny's offer.

After all, he didn't have much to lose.

After a few minutes, he looked around the hotel, looking for any customers or if anyone was particularly watching him. Nope and nope. He grimaced and looked out at the glass front doors. Ge could see a small cart outside, just as promised. He could just run out and quickly grab a treat and run back before he was missed.

Fuck it.

He quickly threw off his hat and walked towards the door with considerable speed, catching a few eyes, but no one said anything. He walked through the doors and trotted down the stairs, stopping at the cart, where Guy was setting two bars to a couple of Royal Guards.

"Linx," he suddenly said, catching Guy's attention. "Huh?" came from the rabbit, and though he looked happy to see him, he had a hint of confusion on his face. "Linx," he repeated. "My real name is Linx. Now give me that Nice Cream." Guy grinned, reaching into the ice box and pulling out a treat. "Coming right up!" He paused, about to hand it to him. A smile was crossed over his face. "Thanks for coming."

"Yeah yeah," Linx sighed, grabbing the treat. Time to see what all the fuss was all about. He muttered a thanks to Guy, before taking a bite. It tasted… okay. Nothing special. Where was that warm fuzzy feeling he was pro-

 _There are people out there who really do care about you._

He stopped, bar halfway in his mouth, frozen for a moment. He then began to slowly eat the rest of the bar, a barely smile across his lips.

Maybe he could stay around for just a little longer.


	19. Day 19 - Muffetton (Underfell)

**Sorry for the late chapters. I've comedown with a sickness. Double updates tomorrow.**

* * *

"J'attendrai, le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours," Muffet sung to herself, humming the little tune as she carefully lined the cupcakes in red icing, curving the design to make all sorts of small swirls. Occasionally she would switch to a purple icing, carried by a few of her spiders, tapping their feet to the gently hum of her song. A few customers were in the dining area as she worked in the backroom, chatting about this and that as they ate. It was a rather calming time for them, seeing as everyone could relax and just munch on expensive pastries as they got used to life on the surface. Humans scarcely entered the building, seeing as they were more wary of spiders than the little ones were afraid of humans. As they should, Muffet often thought.

Unfortunately, the day wasn't going to stay calm for long, as the bell connected to the front door soon rang, signaling another patron had come to eat. Or so she thought. She heard that familiar gasp of the customers and internally groaned, her had grasping the icing pouch a bit too tightly and squirting a load of green icing all over the top of the treats and counter. She bit her lip in annoyance before dropping the bag onto the surface and walking out of the back room, a calm smile on her face. As expected, the visitor was none other than Mettaton himself, dressed up in another fancy outfit of his that was probably made through the collective tears of orphaned child laborers. No one would put it past him, but damn did he look flashy. She momentarily wondered if he would give her the number to the tailor that made those extra armholes in that outfit.

"Muffet, darling!" the robot greeted, boisterous as always. "It's so good to see you again." He walked over to the counter and gave her an unwanted hug with a "mwah" each cheek. She gave a strained smile, pretending as if she didn't already know what it was hear for. "Good evening, dearie," she replied, folding her middle arms on the table. "May I get you anything?"

"No, no, honey, that's quite alright," Metteton refused, giving off a slight chuckle. "Though, speaking of treats…" He trailed off, leaving Muffet's expression to fall and for her to give him a sigh. She looked away, waving a lower arm to tell him to get on with it. So he leaned onto the counter with his arms folded beneath him to keep him up, bending a leg up into the air. "Have you considered my offer?" he asked quickly, only to be met with a curt "no". "What? Why not?" Mettaton complained, his smile quickly fading as a more stubborn and annoyed look bore onto his face. "I think everyone within this establishment could agree that your cupcakes would look much better with my face on it! One hundred and one percent guaranteed!" She gave a scoff as she crossed her upper arms. "What's the margin of error on that?" she asked. "One percent," he smirked.

"Look, as much I'd like to make a deal with you," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "There's no way in hell I'm going to disgrace my treats with your face!" Mettaton looked as if the greatest of disgraces had just been cast upon him. "What? Why, what's wrong with my face? If anything, darling, you should be honored I'm even offering this to you! Any other monster would take this up in a heartbeat!"

"Well maybe it's because I'm not one of your fans," she growled, her patience thinning. "And I suppose I should count myself lucky for that." Metteton's eyes narrowed in disgust as he gripped the edge of the counter in anger. "You're also lucky I don't annihilate you right here and now just for having the gall to say that." He grabbed one of Muffet's arms, his grip tight and painful as he looked ready to crush her dainty hands in one swift move.

Oh hell no.

Muffet clenched her teeth in fury as she twisted in Mettaton's grip to turn around to the open backroom. "MUFFINTOP!" she shouted, catching the robot off guard. There was a low rumble, and then a roar broke through the restaurant as a large spider leg burst through the doorway, the patella stretching over the counter and the tarsus quickly swinging down like a pendulum to pin Mettaton to the counter before he could even react. The crushing of metal was very much evident as it echoed through the room, only drowned out by the star's cry of agony as his insides were smashed by the giant appendage. Muffet was immediately let go.

"Oh my god, what the fuck is that?" Mettaton shouted, hair now a mess as he tried desperately to pry himself off the table. "Get it off of me!" Muffet merely smirked as she crossed her arms. "You know, I was really considering your deal, Mettaton," she teased, watching him struggle to remove himself from the grip. "It you hadn't kept visiting my shop every day of the week, I might have actually called you back."

"It's crushing my circuits! I swear to god, get it off!"

"I was really starting to think you were trying to visit me for other reasons," the spider hummed, causing the robot to stare at her with a hardened glare. "Muffet, I swear to Asgore, if you don't get this thing to release me, I am going to- AHH!" The leg crushed down on him harder, causing him to cry out in pain, two of his arms ceasing to work anymore. Muffet clasped her top hands together, grinning deviously at him. "I'll tell you what, darling. I'll let you go. But first," she went over and pulled a wallet from his pocket, immediately taking all the G he had. She huffed, seemingly disappointed. "Ugh, I was hoping you had more on you." She huffed and threw the wallet onto the ground with a roll of her eyes. "I suppose that will do, though. Muffintop! Laisse le partir, dearie!"

Mettaton let out a gasp of pained relief as the spider limb was removed and retracted back into the room. He collapsed onto the ground, grasping at the giant indention in his chest with one of his still functioning arms. Muffet smirked, feeling a bit better about the whole ordeal. She strut over to the collapsed robot, quickly falling to straddle his chest. "Because you made this visit particularly pleasing, I'll take you up on your offer," she smiled, placing two palms flat on his chest. "I'm thinking a few cupcakes with 'MTT' on the front. And maybe a couple of cookies with that box self of yours iced on top? That's about as far as I'm willing to go." Her eyes narrowed. "As long as we understand each other, oui?" Mettaton clenched his metal teeth painfully, his four eyes half-lidded as he muttered out, "Y-yes. I understand."

"Great!" the girl cheered, giving a kiss on both of his cheeks with a quick "mwah" before getting up. "Now, buy something or get out. I have to feed my pet." She smiled down at the collapsed robot. "Come back soon, yes?"


	20. Day 20 - Papysans (Horrortale)

Sans doesn't remember much. In fact, he'd say he was forgetting things more and more as time went on. Things dropped from his memory, only to be picked up in the occasional reminders, but otherwise left behind. It wasn't that his amnesia was getting worse, bit instead that he just didn't find the need to remember them in the first place. He could vaguely recall flashes, some of a robot or a bit about the past king. Sometimes they're about a kid, but he has trouble with that one the most. Still, he sectioned that all off as not mattering in their situation; and so, they were dropped.

However, despite all that, there was one monster he had never forgotten.

"Sans! Where are you? I need your assistance right away!"

Sans flinched at the gratingly loud voice. Sockets half lidded, he groggily glanced back down the snowy path he had been walking. Sure enough, there was that faint outline of his brother. Out of everyone in the Underground, he remembered Papyrus the most. He supposed it only made sense, as they were siblings with only each other to count on. There was also Toriel, who lived behind the purple doors, but it seemed she made no plans to come out anytime soon.

It was just him and Papyrus.

Just him and his loud, grating, obnoxious, needy, demanding, sporadic, dangerously kindhearted, bleeding heart of a baby brother.

"Hey, bro," he greeted, sauntering up to his sibling. "Ugh, lazing about again, I see," Papyrus huffed, looking down at Sans. His voice was still as boisterous as always, causing that splitting headache the smaller couldn't bear as his brother began to ramble.

As you may have noticed, Sans wasn't in the best of moods when it came to Papyrus, but don't let that define their relationship. Once the hunger set in, and his "accident" had passed, any sympathies or once morals wasted away with time. That didn't change how he felt about Papyrus for the most part; he still loved his brother, but if five years of his new life had done any good, he had at least grown a bit wiser. It took a good bashing to the skull for him to realize his brother wasn't the complete dumbass his old self once thought, and nor was he as innocent.

Sans grimaced for a moment, as he was still remember the pain and anger his old self had felt when Papyrus had come home with a messy and broken smile from a particular night of Undyne's training. He could also remember that Sans' reluctance to do anything about it. It was an odd feeling, getting angry at someone who was him and yet not him at the same time.

Papyrus had definitely changed a lot from what he could collect from fragmented memories. While he certainly wasn't dumb, killing and eating humans had definitely done a number on his psyche, as his shrunken sockets showed. He fidgeted more, couldn't control his volume or strength, and at times Sans wondered if his brother could even tell the difference between right and wrong anymore. Well, he went around feeding the people of Snowdin, so it was obvious he had some sense, even if it was very weak. He wouldn't hesitate to kill a human if it meant getting food for his friends. Speaking of which…

The older skeleton blinked in slight surprise, tilting his skull as he watched Papyrus intently as he rambled. The younger had his gloved hand to his mouth, his phalanges close to those crooked teeth of his.

Sans had also picked up on a few cues over the years. His brother would look down at his boots whenever he felt some resemblance of shame. He giggled and hopped in place whenever he felt happy. He only sat down when he felt tired, which was rare. He stared intently whenever that hint of sadism rung inside him. He had the tendency the chew, as well.

Not just chew, but to gnaw.

The smaller tilted his skull in slight worry, grabbing his little brother's arm with a strong grip. Papyrus jumped slightly, looking down at him curiously. His long, spindly fingers were already within his mouth, his teeth having already begun to bite and chew at the leather-bound gloved. He couldn't help it; his teeth continued to gnaw at the sturdy material and bone with little hesitation.

"Bro, when's the last time you ate?" he rasped, his grip tightening. Papyrus seemed to realize his faults and removed his hand as once, looking down at his boots for a moment as he contemplated the question. "A… few days," he replied honestly. "I may have lost count, to tell the truth." He looked back up at Sans. "Perhaps even a week or so." Sans didn't take to that fact too nicely, the red iris of his constricting as his permanent grin stretched even wider. While his brother wasn't everything he used to be, he was still too kindhearted for his own good, especially when it came to the wellbeing of others. With so many monsters to feed, it was obvious that there would times that his baby brother wouldn't have enough food for himself. While he was able to make spaghetti, it was the meat that really did the trick. Sans internally cursed himself for not seeing the obvious signs of the other's state. To be fair, Papyrus had always had a talent at hiding his own inner turmoil, but Sans had let himself become oblivious sometimes, putting his own problems before his brother's. He could still remember hearing that sickening crunch of bone when Papyrus' hunger had reached it's breaking point, the cracking still audible even through the thick gloves.

He let go of his arm, giving his battle body a small pat. "Go home, Paps," he instructed softly, moving his hand to hook inside his empty socket. "I'll be home in a few hours, 'kay? I'll get us a bit of food." Papyrus gave an almost kid-like squeal of joy and went to embrace him, but Sans quickly stopped him. As much as he knew his old self enjoyed the hugs, with Papyrus' new lack of control of his own strength, he could easily end up breaking the smaller's spine in one squeeze. That's usually why Sans did most of the hugging.

With another pat on the younger's lumbar, he watched him quickly run home. After he disappeared down the path, the older turned and walked towards the large purple doors. Time to get some dinner.

Luckily Toriel wasn't tending to any of the humans at the time. She was there when his fist rapped on the door. A quick explanation of the situation had her complying in an instant. "Wait an hour," she told him, before her footsteps faded. So Sans sat at his station, gently drumming his phalanges along the tabletop of the station. If Toriel was one thing, she was a lifesaver. As deranged as she had become, she still cared for her subjects more than Empress Undick ever bothered to. Well, that was true as far as he could remember, anyways. She loved her "children" to the point of obsession, but she was always willing to let one or two slip at her friend's request.

It wasn't too long before Sans heard the double doors creak open. His grin broadened, his fingers not stopping their rhythmic tapping. He brought his other hand up to hook his empty socket once again, as his own hunger became apparent.

The human that stumbled out was an older girl, looking a bit more aged than most that came out but still fairly young from what he knew about humans. With dirtied and tattered garments and an obvious injury to her leg, she stumbled out of the doorway.

This was usually when Sans would wait for the girl come by or possibly do the good spike-in-the-hand trick, but not this time. He wasn't going to let Papyrus wait any longer.

She didn't even see him coming. He decided to use his axe he kept behind his station; he didn't want to waste his magic on an easy kill. He easily lobbed off her head with a quick swing. Her body dropped to the ground, and he took a moment to contemplate her corpse. Perhaps back when he was someone else, he would feel something for her. Maybe a twinge of regret, pity, or even remorse would have stilled his soul. However, all he could feel right now was a faint hunger and the need to feed his baby brother. He made sure to pick up the head as he began to take the body back home. Papyrus' favorite parts had always been the squishier organs, like the eyes. He seemed to like to chew and gnaw on the more inedible bits, causing Sans to assume that with how violently his teeth had been torn out and shoved back, it might have caused the larger skeleton to develop a sort of oral fixation.

Papyrus had been sitting on the floor before the couch, those large legs crossed as he watched the dead channel on the screen when Sans came in. He gave an excited gasp before popping up to his full hight, running to the door to meet his brother at the door. "You brung food!" he cheered, helping to bring the still warm body into the house. The smaller skeleton grinned up at his brother, handing him the decapitated head of his victim. "I told you I would, didn't I?" he chuckled, before lifting up his axe. Papyrus got the cue and held the body towards the blade, allowing him to cut down the girl's chest and open up her stomach, miraculously avoiding damaging most of the organs. Usually they would carefully section the body into pieces before Papyrus would work his magic in the kitchen. However, right now it was obvious he was too starved to even bother cooking the meat. Sans didn't mind this, of course. He found that he preferred his meat bloody. The younger dropped the body onto its back on the stained floor, not hesitating to peel the skin on the abdomen away and to rip out a large chunk of the muscle that lay underneath.

Sans didn't get any food right away, instead preferring to watch his baby bro tear into the meat with crooked, broken teeth. His giggly, excitable, supportive, caring, precious, wounded monster he called his baby bro.

He went over behind his brother, fixing that tattered scarf that hung loosely around his cervical so it hung on a little tighter. A momentarily wondered if his brother would mind if he tied it into bow. A silly thought for sure, but he couldn't help but think of Papyrus like that. So instead, he leaned over his brother, wrapping his arms around his vertebrae in a gentle fashion, so unlike the nature his usual actions. Papyrus paused for a moment, his hands sunken deep into the intestines of the body. He turned his head slightly, a blank look cross over his skull, but Sans could still recognize it as confusion. Still, the two remained silent, so without an answer, Papyrus went back to pulling out the bundle of small intestines. Any confusion or lingering emotions were dropped as he decided to concentrate solely on sating his hunger. Remembering his own need for food, Sans removed himself from his brother to sit down beside him, using a sharp bone to tear out a chunk of muscle. A sharp pang of hunger shot through him now that he was right before his food. He wasted no time in digging into the raw food. He hadn't realized how starved he had been until he was actually digging in. He blamed it on his brother; he always seemed less hungry when his thoughts were on Papyrus.

He began to eat, focusing on the food in front of him. Still, he couldn't help himself whenever his large red pupil flicked up to watch his brother gnaw at the end of the end of the intestine like he'd never eaten before in his life. His grin broadened as he scooted closer to his Papyrus, glad he was able to feed his baby brother like a big brother was supposed to.


	21. Day 21 - Friskriel (Undertale)

"Y-you're back," Asriel breathed, looking up at Frisk in slight surprise. Frisk smiled widely giving a nod as they ran over to him, their feed not making a sound as they stepped in the blackness of the void they had found themselves in once again. Asriel met them with a tight embrace, hugging them close until Frisk pulled away. He almost couldn't believe this was happening again. It shouldn't be much of a shock, though; this hadn't been their second or third meeting.

Frisk's first journey through the Underground had been hectic, and it's unfortunate to say that a few monsters met their end at their hand. Before the events that started it all, Frisk had met Asriel in the form of Flowey, though it's unsure if he could really still be called Asriel then. Still, even after Flowey was defeated, they still seemed to share this strange connection, and it was then that Frisk reset and started their first pacifist run. It was at the end of that journey that they met.

It was tear-jerking, as one would expect. They talked and apologies had been spewed from the boss monster while the human tried their best to comfort him. They shared their goodbyes, and Frisk went to join their family.

And then they reset again.

Upon their second meeting, Asriel couldn't remember what happened. During their third, he could vaguely recall certain flashes of memories. By their twentieth, he could remember everything. And yet, Frisk kept coming back. They would come each time with something new to say, and they would talk and talk before Asriel was forced to destroy the barrier and fade away. Every time, Frisk always reset afterwards. Numerous times he had questioned them about this, but he always got the same sort of statements. "I just wanted to see you," they would say. "I'm just trying to figure something out," was also a common one and on the vague side of things. He would ask them what it was they were figuring out, but they didn't seem to be able to put the answer into words.

And so here they were once again. Frisk stood excitedly in front of their friend once again, while Asriel couldn't be happier to see them once again. He did feel a little bit guilty about stalling the futures of everyone else, but he just wanted to sit down and talk with his friend once again and forget about all of that.

Frisk plopped down on the ground, beginning to search through their inventory. "I brought you something," they whispered, looking up at him with a wide grin. It was striking how much it reminded him of Chara. He sat down as well, tilting his head in curiosity. Frisk had never brung him anything before; in fact, he didn't even know things could be taken in here. "Well what is it-"

"Here!" the human quickly brought out a slice of golden-brown delicacy he didn't think he'd ever get to see again for years. "No way!" he exclaimed, his hands already reaching for the plate. "Mom's butterscotch pie!" He was about to grab the plate, when he paused, looking up at Frisk hesitantly. His friend merely smiled and pushed the plate into his hands. "Go ahead," they encouraged. "It's for you." He grinned, giving a quick thanks as he grabbed the plate and a fork. He took a quick bite, as time was limited for them, before groaning at the taste. "Mmmm! I forgot just how good this tasted," he moaned, closing his eyes for a moment as he closed his eyes. Memories of his mother and father sharing a pie as they traded stories by a fire. He remembered Chara, too, always excited when mom made their absolute favorite: chocolate mud pie. Asriel was a snail person himself, but he'd have to be mad not to fall in love with the warm, comforting taste of butterscotch. It was definitely dad's favorite. He smiled at the memories, taking another slow bite as he relaxed in the darkness of their surroundings.

When he was a good halfway, he looked back at Frisk, giving them a thankful smile. "Thank you for bringing this to me," he sighed, taking another bite. "It… means a lot to me. That you'd do all this just for me." Frisk gave a nod, but frowned when Asriel's own smile fell. "I… almost feel as if I don't deserve it," he mumbled, looking away. Not a beat passed before he felt his friend grab his hand. "No… that's not true," Frisk whispered to him. Asriel wore a slight look of surprise as they settled back, a soft smile coming back onto their face.

"When I first… when I first met you, I knew there was more to this than what everything seemed to entail," they began, pulling their hands away. "I wanted to… help you. I didn't know how, and I definitely tried with Flowey, but I know I could do it somehow." They gave a small sigh, folding their hands in their lap. "So… I reset. And I reset again. And again and again and again. I was trying to look for an answer, anything that could help you."

Asriel felt a smile grow across his face, but he gently shook his head. "Gosh… thank you, Frisk," he whispered. "But… but you can't help me. There's just no way. I mean, I don't need to, really. Flowey still sees mom and dad whenever you bring him up to the surface. Even if it's hard for him to feel, you manage to bring happiness to mom and dad, and that's all I ask. I… appreciate you coming here, though." Frisk's expression grew determined. They grabbed his hand once again, forcing him to put down the plate and fork with one hand.

"Asriel. How would you like to see them again? As you, and not Flowey?" they offered, catching Asriel off guard. He obviously nodded with a smile. "That would be amazing! I want nothing more but to hug them again. And tell stories by the fire and eat pie." His expression softened. "Like we used to." Frisk gave a curt nod, before pulling away. They turned around, seemingly to take something out. Asriel's curiosity and excitement was growing. They seemed to promise something by the way they gripped his hand tightly and gave him that determined nod. Could it really be possible?

Frisk then turned around, holding something in their hands. Something big, red, and glowing ever so softly. Asriel's jaw hung in shock, shifting away for a moment as he trie to comprehend what he was looking at.

"Frisk… I…"

In Frisk's hands was their soul. It pulsed every so often with life that they guarded in every fight with peace and love. And Frisk was handing it over to Asriel.

"Take it," they whispered. Asriel shook his head in refusal, still unable to process the offer. "Wh-what? No! Frisk, I can't take your soul-!"

They only gave him a soft smile, their eyes growing bleary. They were not sad, but instead happy, their hands pushing the soul further over to Asriel.

"It's going to be okay. This is the only way you can get out of here. You deserve to be with mom and dad again. They deserve to have their son back."

But Asriel still tried to refuse, tears beginning to drip down his face. "But what about you?" he exclaimed, worry evident in his eyes. "If I take your soul, you'll… you'll-" "I'll be right here with you," Frisk smiled, crying also evident in their face. "Just take it, Asriel. Please."

Asriel was surprised when he was suddenly embraced. "I'm getting you out of here. I promise," Frisk whispered, their voice cracking as they held him tightly. "You're going to see them again, and we're all going to be happy. I promise. I'm going to be with you. Every step of the way."

Asriel couldn't help it anymore. He burst into tears, embracing Frisk back tightly as he cried. "Thank you," he sobbed, his grip only tightening. "Thank you so much." His friend cried as well, a smile spread across their face. "You'll never be alone again. I promise."


	22. Day 22 - Dogi (Undertale)

Dogamy was a rather shy individual. He enjoyed all the activities most dogs should, such as fetching, sniffing strange smells, and barking at anything that came within twenty feet of his house, but when it came to social skills, he was definitely lacking in the nerves department. He just had trouble talking with girls, and whenever he did muster up the courage, a simple rejection or break up was enough to blur his eyes. "Too emotional" they called him. "You get attached too easily" others would say. As much as he tried to dispute this, with was partly true. Hell, he practically followed his cousin around like a lost puppy. He went along with all his dumb ideas, he was always there to get him out of trouble, and he was even the (pretty terrible) wingman for him. So when his cousin suggested they sign up for the guard, he agreed, though very reluctantly.

"C'mon," Doggo had encouraged, "I hear they're forming a canine unit up in Snowdin. That new captain's been boosting up defenses since the last human that passed through here. Hand me a treat." Dogamy sighed and picked up a dog treat, giving a little underhand toss to his relative. Doggo easily caught it and stuck it in his mouth, lighting one end. "And besides," he continued, his voice muffled by the object in his mouth, "it'll be a great way to meet other dogs." He glanced over at Dogamy, wiggling his eyebrows with a snarky grin. The canine in question gave an embarrassed grimace as he looked away. "Yeah yeah, I got it," he dismissed, crossing his arms. "Where do we sign up?"

It wasn't until a few weeks later that they were in front of the captain, watching her bark out (ha) inspirational phrases, trying to get them hyped for their test. Each of them had to complete a training course and fight the captain personally. Dogamy internally scolded himself for signing up for this; he didn't know dick diddly about fighting, much less how to actually be a guard. The auditions themselves weren't all that good, either, mostly because there was almost no one there. He could see about three other dogs he couldn't recognize, but then again, how many dogs do need in a unit in a place as harmless as Snowdin? The first two to step up to the captain were a pair of twins, from what he could tell. They were born from the same litter and everything. They seemed to be well trained and a tough fight, even if one of hem had this really weird trick with his neck. He was sure they passed. He wasn't to confident about himself, though. He almost wanted to hide his face when he saw Doggo step up to the plate.

Anyone who even talked to Doggo for five minutes could figure out that his eyesight wasn't the best. If something wasn't directly in front of him and moving around, it pretty much didn't exist in his book. He fell flat on his face almost instantly, but the captain still gave him a chance to prove himself. Working a bit of blue magic at the end, he actually ended up passing, much to Dogamy's surprise. Well, it was just him and the other dog. He let the other one go first.

As it turns out, the other dog was female. Immediately that caught his attention, for up until then, it had been a complete wiener dog fest. He leaned in, watching her intently. White fur, black nose, beady blue eyes; god she was beautiful. He couldn't help but watch her entire routine intently. Her magic was weapon-based, as well. She summoned a large axe, able to really bring a few good blows down onto anything she hit. The only problem was that her sense of smell wasn't the best. He could definitely relate.

By the time she was done, he had completely forgotten about registering for the guard and everything, so it took a few moments for him to register the captain was calling for him. He stepped into the ring, his nerves on end. "So, what's your ATK?" the captain asked. He gave her the answer, surprising her. "That's… fairly low. What about your defense?" Also low. "Whoa. Okay, what about your magic? Summon something for me." He could barely even summon anything for her. He could see Doggo face palm from the side, and even more embarrassingly, that female dog was watching him as intently as he had done to her. Probably the best course of action now was to go out and hobble down a heaping load of chocolate. It really couldn't get any worse, and from the looks the captain gave him, she thought the same thing.

As you may have guessed, he didn't get into the guard. It was an embarrassment, but he should have really seen it coming. However, this wasn't the end of it.

Dogamy was surprised when he heard someone knocking at his door the next morning. When he opened it, he saw the female dog from the day before standing there expectantly. "Uh… can I help you?" he asked. She just crossed her arms. "Come on. I'm training you," she said, gesturing out to the path that led towards Snowdin. She caught the uneasy look he gave her. "Oh come on, what else are you going to do today? Lick your balls? Let's go." She grabbed his hand and led him outside.

True to her word, he began to train him. While he wasn't very much into it at first, it was obvious she didn't want him to give up. Despite his failed magic, he kept going. For her.

To his surprise, he actually became better as time went on. He learned how to summon a weapon; it was an axe, just like her's. She taught him how to fight and how to defend himself and how to nose nuzzle. Okay, that last one was a bit extra-curricular, but it was still of dire importance.

The next year, the dog, Dogaressa, had Dogamy try out once again. Like before, he didn't have too much faith in his own abilities, but he still tried for her sake. The captain definitely noticed his improvement, praising him on getting so strong in just under a year. By the next month, he was officially instated into the Royal Guard as part of its first canine unit. His cousin and the other dogs were proud of him, but none more so than Dogaressa.

The two dogs became partners, and soon more than just that. They became lovers, significant others, soulmates, and nose nuzzle champions together. He made sure to put a ring on her as fast as she would let him, and they were soon married. Much of Snowdin and the Royals came to see it, but Dogamy didn't find much solace in the attention, but instead having his wife beside him. She was always beside him, until the very end. Together, they were happy.


	23. Day 23 - Charisk (Swapfell)

Chara stared at the doorway, leading to the throne room. She was silent, just watching the queen water her flowers as she had done before. She knew if she took one more step, she would be heard, just like every time before. And then she would be killed without a second thought, as it always was. She watched for a moment before turning around, leaving the hall and going back to the Judgement Hall. She could still smell smoke from when Papyrus had confronter her earlier. She felt anger rise within her, as well as tears if frustration blur her eyes.

 **Where are you going?**

"I can't do this anymore," she hissed, wiping her eyes. "Not again. I'm…. I'm going back to Asgore."

 **You know he won't let you back in.**

"Then I'll go back to Sans and Papyrus," she improvised. "Just… just somewhere, okay?"

 **They'll be disappointed. Especially Papy-**

"Shut the fuck up!" she shouted into the hall, clenching her fists. "Just shut the fuck up, okay? For once, I just want you leave m-me alone." Her breathing hitched as she angrily wiped her tears away with her sweater sleeve.

 **Chara, I-**

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed, stumbling out of the hall in anger.

 **…**

She sniffled, making her way through New Home as she hid her face with her hands. Monster saw her and immediately began pelting insults at her, calling her a coward and pathetic. She ignored them, though. Some even attempted to attack her, but she would just flee every time. She ran back to Hotland, turning herself off to all the shouting and stares she received. She took the River Skeleton's boat back to Snowdin, where things were thankfully less heated. Frisk remained silent the entire time, but she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. For now she would count it as good.

She stumbled over to the skeleton house, where she saw Sans and Alphys in the front as usual. Both looked surprised to see her. "Human!" Sans exclaimed. "What are you doing back here? And why are you leaking from the eyes?" Alphys scoffed. "She's crying, dumbass," she muttered, causing him to glare at her.

Usually Chara would have stayed around for their spat, but she just burst her way inside the home, collapsing on the couch. She crossed her arms, slumping down on the cushions as she dried the last of her tears. It wasn't long before she heard the door above her creak open. Out of her peripherals, she could see Papyrus lean over the balcony railing. She felt a light rain if ashes get flicked on her. "So, you gave up, did ya?" he sighed. He got no response. He took a moment to take a drag drag from his cigarette, raining a bit more ashes down in her shaking form. "How many times did ya try?"

"Forty-three," she rasped, turning her head away. There was silence for a moment, before the shadow disappeared from over her. She suddenly felt a burning sting in her arm and she jolted back, looking up with tears in her eyes. However, no one was there except for the crushed cigarette on the floor. Anger flooded her being, determination being replaced with spite.

Perhaps if she reset, she could fight back this time.

 **No.**

Chara grunted in annoyance, getting sick of this shit. "It's the only way to go home," she sighed, clenching her fist.

 **You can't just give up here. You have to keep going. Stay determine-**

"Yeah yeah, stay determined," she sighed, an annoyed look crossed over. "It doesn't matter what I do, she always kills be. Over and over. That's all these monsters know how to do, and that's all they ever will do." She sat up and crossed her legs, looking down. "It… it'll only be a few monsters."

 **Chara… what would make you any better than them?**

"I'm killing for freedom!" she spat.

 **Yes. And so are they.**

Chara fell silent, slouching back into the couch. She was wishing she could just sink in and never emerge. Wouldn't that be grand?

 **We can still get through. We just have to keep going.**

"Yeah?" Chara scoffed, crossing her arms. "And just what makes you think that? Every monster so far has been trying to kill me!"

 **And yet you've made friends with every one of those monsters.**

She stopped, her mouth open as she tried to think of a rebuttal. She just slowly closed it again, allowing Frisk to continue.

 **You made friends with Sans. You've brought Undyne and Alphys closer together. You got Grillby to stop trying to set you on fire. You've helped Napstaton find himself and appreciate the friends he has. If you can do all that, you can get through Toriel.**

Chara gave a slow nod, feeling a slight bit more confidence. "Yeah… I guess you're right."

 **And I've been with you every step of he way, haven't I?**

She nodded. "Yeah. You have." Through the fights and various loads she was forced to do, there were many times where she felt like just leaving and never returning. However, Frisk was always in her head to egg her on, telling her to keep it going and to stay determined.

She couldn't help but give a small smile. "Thanks. For.. y'know, putting up with me."

It was silent for a moment.

 **I enjoy going on this journey with you. I just want everyone to be free and finally be happy again. Like it used to be. I believe that we can get out of here. We can save everyone, and we don't need to hurt them in the process.**

Chara unfolded her arms, giving a small sigh. "But… but what if I can't get past her?"

 **We'll find a way. I know we can. And I'll be with you every step of the way.**

"Promise?"

 **I promise. No matter what you do, I'll still believe in you.**

Chara got up, smiling. "Alright. I you believe I can do it then… then I guess I can give it a few more shots. After all, she can't hold out forever, can she?"

 **Exactly. Now let's go load up on Starfait.**

Chara nodded, now filled with determination. "Let's go love everyone into submission," she said, before exiting the house.

She made her way back to Hotland, dashing through the core and through New Home, before she arrived back at the throne room. Toriel was still tending to her flowers, having not noticed her. Fear welled up in her soul as she froze.

 **We can do it. I'll be with you every step of the way.**

Chara nodded, before taking a deep breath and entering the throne room.

She was going to free everyone. They were going to free everyone.


	24. Day 24 - Royal Guards (Undertale)

"What? What do you mean there's no more nice cream?"

"Sorry, little buddy. Don't know what else to tell ya," the Nice Cream Vendor replied to the complaining Origami monster. She just groaned and walked back into the resort. RG 01 chuckled as he watched, licking a bit more nice cream from the opening in his helmet. "Ha, I think we, like, took the last of the cream, bro," he laughed, looking over at his partner. RG 02 gave a similar chuckle, taking a quick lick of his treat as well.

01 waited for a response, but none was given; it was just that chuckle. He gulped and looked away for a moment, that familiar nervous feeling crawling back up into his soul. He knew from three years of experience that 02 wasn't much of a talker. He liked to listen most of the time and would respond occasionally when asked a question. Even when he did speak, it was always in long, drawn out responses, as if he was deciding what was carefully deciding what to say next each time he spoke. 01 didn't mind doing most of the talking, since he had loads of topics on his mind. However, at this moment, he was blanking on what to say next to his new boyfriend. He tried to think of something to talk about or say.

"So, like, what's your name?" he decided on, giving a small tilt of his head. 02 paused and looked over at him, his expression hidden by the darkness within the helmet. "You…. don't know my name?" 01 froze for a moment, his eyes wide under his helmet. Well, they had been a couple for twenty-five minutes. That was long enough, he supposed. "We've….. been partners for three years….. You don't know my name?" 01's breathing hitched as he struggled to muster out an answer. "W-well, y'know, we've- uh… we've only called each other by, like, numbers for so long… heh, uh…" He froze up, before turning to his classic defense mechanism. "Ha! Fooled ya again, bro! Of course I know your name! It's….. it's… it's like…."

02 was silent for a moment. "You don't know my name, do you?"

01 said nothing, for he had nothing to say.

02 stared back, before giving a shrug and licking his nice cream. "Fair enough… I never learned your name either… You never told me it after all." 01 wanted to just melt into a puddle right then and there. He sighed in relief, slumping his shoulders a bit from such a moment.

"My name's Scales, by the way," 02 said, taking the other by surprise a bit. "Scales?" 01 repeated, testing out it sounded from his own mouth. He liked it. "Huh. Scales. That's cool, bro."

The two were silent again for a moment as 01 awkwardly looked away, sticking the nice cream in his mouth to keep himself busy and to excuse himself from talking. Scales looked over at him again, seemingly staring at him from under his helmet. Oh god, what was it now. Still, 01 tried to play it cool as always.

"Getting tired of the cream, bro?" he chuckled. "We did, like, buy out an entire cart, after all. I'll take it if you don't want it." Scaled looked down at the treat and shook his head. "No… I still want to finish it." He looked back up at 01. "Are you…. going to tell me your name?"

01 was getting ready to knock himself right out right then and there. He gave a nervous laugh. "Oh yeah, like, sorry about that, bro. Hah." He rubbed the back of his head. "Radbit. My name's Radbit." Scales gave a slow nod. "Nice name," he said simply, going back to eating his nice cream. "Yeah, yeah. Totally nice name," Radbit chuckled, looking away for a moment.

They were silent once again. Radbit finished his nice cream first, while Scales lagged behind by a few minutes, but eventually finished it. They sat in silence for a few moments, before one if them finally decided to speak up.

"You know… you don't have to hold back around me, right?" Scales suddenly said, surprising his parter. "Huh? Like, what do you mean, bro?" he asked, feeling himself begin to sweat again. "You've never been this nervous….. before," the dragon shrugged, clasping his hands together. "And I know you like me… and you know I feel the same way." Radbit opened his mouth to speak, but his partner still had something to say. "I know you lie about your feelings… and you try to play it cool all the time…. But it doesn't change how I feel about you. I want you to be honest with me." He suddenly grabbed the other's hand. "You don't have to feel embarrassed anymore."

Radbit was definitely taken aback by his friend's unusual amount of words. For someone so quiet, he must have been really passionate about this to speak so much about it. He found himself blushing under the mask, and on instinct, he brought a hand up to try and hide his embarrassing feelings, but stopped himself. For three years he had been crushing on his bro, and they were finally together. No more hiding.

Without another word, he took off the helmet that covered his face. Scales seemed taken aback, taking a moment to look over the orange bunny that presented himself to him. Then, without another word, he did he same, tugging off his own helmet, revealing his blue scales and large navy horns. This wasn't the first time they had seen each other face to face, but damn it if it wasn't the most special. Radbit once again found himself without words, but this time it was so he didn't ruin this moment. Another thought came to his mind, and for a moment, he felt nothing but embarrassment at the idea, attempting to push it away. However, after a few moments, he decided to embrace his feelings. He wouldn't hide how he felt anymore.

He quickly leaned forward, giving his partner a swift kiss before pulling away. Scales was obviously taken aback, and for a second, Radbit thought he had screwed up. However, after a few seconds, they found that all they could really do was look at each other lovingly.


	25. Day 25 - Soriel (Underfell)

It was quiet at the stations as always. Sans watched his brother storm back down the snow-covered bath, having just given the smaller his daily dose of berating and scolding. He tapped his fingers impatiently, waiting for Papyrus to disappear from sight. He quickly checked he time on his phone. He should have a few hours before he came back. Perfect.

Sans stepped away from the station, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he made his way to the purple double doors. Once there, he pressed his back to the stone doors and slumped down, giving the stony exterior of the hollowed door a firm knock with the back of his fist. There was an immediate response.

"You're late," the woman on the other door huffed. "Yeah yeah, I was held up," he dismissed with a wave. "Not everyone has as much free time as you do," he huffed, bringing his knees up to his chest to rest his ulnas on. He found himself wondering if she took the same position, leading him to once again try to picture what she looked like. He imagined a larger woman, and thought she might possibly be a bear or maybe some sort of mammal, since she was all the way out in Snowdin. He knew she was old and had children, from what she described, so he imagined a bit on the weaker side, though the regal tone left him with doubts. He momentarily wondered what she thought he looked like. Neither of them ever described themselves to the other in a physical sense, since they had agreed on introductions once they met face to face one day. So for all he knew, she could just be a figment of his imagination. He's rather not think of that.

"Your brother again?" she hummed, an amused tone to her voice. Sans gave a slight groan. "Of course it was. Who else? Boss just won't give me a fuckin' break. It's not like anything happens on sentry duty, anyways. Usually I just take a shortcut away, but somehow that fucker always finds me." He heard a giggle behind the doors and turned his head slightly to look at the stone. "Well then, your family tree must be a cactus." Sans blinked in confusion, before a grin spread over his skull. "Oh yeah? Why's that?" he goaded. "Because everyone on it is a _prick_!" He had to cover his mouth to hold back a chuckle. "Okay okay, ya got me there," he chuckled, feeling his spirits lifting at the joke. "But I least you admit I'm as sharp as a thorn. You're just _pointless_." He heard her snicker from behind the doors. "Oh, my dear, you remind me so much of my former husband. Young, dumb, and-"

"Hung?" Sans chuckled. Apparently that one was a real show stopped, because she burst into laughter. He was pretty sure he could hear genuine tears in her roaring. He felt like his soul lifted at the sound and suddenly he didn't feel like such garbage anymore. He chuckled along, waiting for her to finish so they could continue their conversation.

"Oh, I'm going to have to have to figure that one out for myself, aren't I?" she finished with a chuckle, sounding out of breath. He rested his mandible on his arms, smirking to himself, and at the same time, at her. "That's an invitation I'd gladly accept, lady. Any day. It's been a while since I've been laid, after all."

"Not much luck, lately?" she hummed with a giggle, a knowing tone in her voice. "Pfft, don't you know it?" Sans scoffed, rolling his eyelights in annoyance at his own shitty track record. "Haven't gotten any since Boss gave me this fuckin' collar." He lifted his skull and tugged at his own collar, a black leather with golden spikes that could really impale a mother fucker if need be. He'd pricked himself a few times, even though he was made completely of bone. He looked back at the door, awaiting a response for a good minute, but there was none.

"Uh, did ya fuckin' die back there or somethin'? 'Cause I thought we had a pretty nice thing goin' on here, y'know?" he joked.

" _You wear a collar_?"

Sans froze for a moment, not expecting that response. He mentally smacked himself in the skull. For weeks they'd went back and forth, and this was the first time one of them let something slip about themselves. He gave a small huff and nodded to himself. "Yeah… yeah, I do," he answered. "Boss gave it to me a year back or so."

"Is that why you call your brother 'Boss'?" she inquired. "Does he own you?"

"Wha- no!" he responded quickly. "No no, he's just my brother, and only my brother."

"Then why the collar?"

"He just… worries about me, okay?" he sighed. "You know he's captain of the Royal Guard. I've told you, right? Yeah. Captain. And I don't have very much HP, so it's just to get people to back off. That's it."

The response took a few moments.

"How much HP?" she asked. Sans opened his mouth to answer, but stopped himself before he could say anything. What was he doing? He couldn't just spill everything about himself to this stranger. Even if she sounded caring, he'd been duped before.

"Four hundred," he finally decided on. That was fairly low, but it didn't show himself as completely defenseless. "Oh," was her response. She didn't sound doubtful, so he guessed he pulled that lie off. However, without actually seeing her face. "Yeah," he sighed. "It's not much, but I'm working on it."

"Are you okay?"

He wasn't expecting the question, and he froze for a moment, not knowing how to respond. He felt his soul tighten for a moment. The last person to ever really ask that was Papyrus, and that was almost a decade ago. "Yeah… I guess," he answered slowly. "I'm just… going through a few things, y'know. That's… that's it."

There was no response. He couldn't stop himself when he continued.

"I'm just tired. Tired of everything. I just want to take a long nap. A long… long nap. Just to get away from everything." He rubbed around his sockets, letting out a sigh. "You ever feel like that, old lady?"

Things continued to be silent. Then, he heard her stand up. He hadn't gotten too personal, had he? What the fuck kind of question was that? Of course he had. He sighed and lowered his skull, rapping a fist on his skull. "Stupid stupid stupid," he muttered.

"Would you like some pie?" he suddenly heard from the other end. He froze up for a moment, before his frame relaxed and he raised his skull. "You know what, lady? That sounds fantastic," he sighed, his grin broadening. "Real fantastic." He'd only tried her pie once, but fuck was it a treat to have. He assumed she had gotten up to go retrieve the slice of pie, and yet he was shocked into standing when he felt the doors begin to move. He backed up, expecting the doors to only move enough for her to fit a slice of pie through, but was wrong on that account as well. The door kept opening wider until he could fully gaze at the woman before him.

He was right on two aspects: she was a mammal-type monster, and boy, was she large. Large with white fur, small horns, red eyes, and black robes with a very familiar red symbol on the front.

Sans felt his breathing hitch as he took a stepped back to take her in. Things were starting to piece together now. The secrecy, the regal tone, the motherly attitude; there was no doubt about it. He had been spouting off his problems to the former queen of the Underground.

Even so, he didn't feel as petrified as he knew he should be. There was a certain comfort in finally meeting this person face to face. Only moments before, she had been laughing at his jokes and sympathizing with the problems he had poured from his soul. He felt as though he didn't need to hide himself around her. Even when she slowly scanned him up and down, he felt a strange sense of comfort. He felt a warm feeling in his soul at the sight of her. She made him feel a sense of safety and warmth for the first time in a while, something a few dozen bottles of mustard and booze couldn't accomplish.

And then she started laughing.

His expression fell.

It didn't start off as a giggle, either. She burst into howls of laughter taking a step closer towards him. Any warmth previously felt was lost, and he took a step back because of a fear he wasn't willing to admit.

"Why, you're so small!" she exclaimed in between bouts of laughter. It was true that he was about half her size, but he hadn't bothered to notice how intimidating she looked until he saw those sharp claws reaching for him. She quickly lunged at him faster than he thought someone of her size could move, easily grabbing him and lifting him up with a hand around his cervical, just barely touching the collar. She could pick him up with one arm; despite him being half her size and rather rotund, he was still a skeleton and thus fairly light. Her laughter died out as one of her large hands wrapped around the base of his skull, gripping tightly. "Why, I think I could crush your skull in one hand," she giggled, looking down at him as if he was some amusing pet. He growled in a newfound fear that struck his soul as he tried to push her away. She didn't budge. Instead, she checked him, laughing even harder at what she saw. He felt even colder right then. He swore he couldn't feel anything but a tight sensation in his soul. "I wonder what else you've lied about?" she hummed, those sharp claws skittering around his skull as he tried to control himself. "Surely not about your brother or your petty sentry job. Well, you weren't lying about he collar, that's for sure." She grinned, exposing the length of those sharp canines as she observed more of them. "Or are you really as weak as you make yourself out to be?"

"I am not weak!" he hissed at her, his red eyelight flashing; it almost felt as though it was burning inside his skull. "Oh, my dear," she purred, pressing her head against his. "If you hadn't kept detailing every aspect of your life to a stranger, I might actually believe that. No, you're just a pathetic little whelp, aren't-"

The former queen stopped for a moment, looking up in surprise when she saw a levitating animal-like skull form out of thin air. It opened it's sharp-toothed maw, a beam beginning to charge in its mouth. "Let me go. Now!" Sans barked, a sharpened bone forming in his hand, pointing the tip at her chest threateningly. She looked surprised, bit her expression donned that wicked grin once again in a matter of seconds. "Go ahead. I dare you," she growled, leaning her face close to his as her grip tightened.

Sans had the blaster charge further, almost ready to fire. The tip of his bone pressed further against the queen, ready to sink in without a moment's notice. She grinned even wider, goading him into taking the next step and hurting her. He got ready and…

And…

What was the point? He went limp in her arms. He already knew he couldn't muster up the will to intentionally kill someone. He fell silent, the weapons disappearing into nothingness as he looked away. Anger was replaced by an empty feeling once again. "Alright. Go ahead," he whispered, looking back at her. She gave a soft smirk down at him, but didn't attack him as he first expected. Instead she brought him closer to her chest, her hands moving from around his cervical and skull to circling his spine and ribs, keeping him supported. "Just as I suspected, she sighed, moving back towards the doors. He blinked in confusion, wondering what shit she was trying to pull now. "What… are you…?" he mumbled.

"I've decided to keep you for a few days," she hummed, closing the stone doors with one hand. "Keep… wah? No, I, Boss'll kill me n' I…" he weakly protested. She shook her head as she moved down a long hallway, humming as she gently rubbed his spine in an almost gentle sort of way. "Don't worry about him right now," she sighed. "You're with me."

Sans flinched for a moment when he felt her hand touch the back of his cervical, but jolted when he felt a heavy weight drop off. She took up the collar and placed it in her inventory as she walked. "You won't be needing this for a few days," she hummed. He brought a hand up to feel the now naked area. "Lady… what are you doing?" he asked, attempting to lean back and look at her. "Oh, my dear Sans, just call me Toriel," she told him, walking up a small flight of stairs.

She planted a small kiss on the top of his skull. "Consider yourself mine for these next few days. Hopefully then you won't be as tired. Understood?"

Sans gave a slow, unsure nod, just letting himself go with it as he leaned his skull against her. He wasn't sure what he could really trust at his point. Still, he felt that warmth creep back up into his still soul. He smiled some. "Yeah. I got you… Tori."


	26. Day 26 - FriskKid (Underswap)

Frisk loved her sibling more than words could describe.

Monster Kid was a curious case for sure. With no arms, a lizard-like form, and being adopted by the royal family, he seemed to take so much after his parents. The way he smiled and the way he just looked at her with a fondness she'd never known made her feel special. She'd never had a sibling growing up, and any sort of best friends she had were never long lasting, so to have both just stumble across her collapsed figure was a sort of miracle she didn't think she needed, nor did she think she deserved.

Monsters all around treated her like family, but it was Monster Kid and her new parents that made her feel truly welcome. They fed her, clothed her, took care of her, and other such comforts she had struggles with even comprehending. For the first time in so long, she felt like she was free to be happy and to love. Even still, she felt as though she owed them something in return, despite their denials of the notion.

For a couple of years, this was how life was. She had her first birthday in the Underground, where Monster had given her a heart-shaped locket, something he insisted on fitting on despite not having any arms. It made her cry that day, and it took almost an hour to get her to calm down. Even still, she wouldn't leave his side for an entire week, feeling as though she was actually apart of the family. Despite that, there was something off. She had gotten to know all of the species of monsters and could recite them by name, and in return they all regarded her as a princess of sorts; it was as if they believed she was actually a daughter to the king and queen. Guilt was the main reason for hesitation to accept such an idea. It was a guilt stemming from listening to her brother. He talked of freedom and the surface, dreaming of a time where he would be able to see the sun for the first time that wasn't through a large hole. All they needed to do was break that barrier, and his and everyone else's would finally come true. They just needed souls, and yet her own soul was left untouched and unscathed by weapons or magic of any kind. Her brother was forced to live Underground with the rest of his kind while she just roamed around them. She often wondered how many times the monster thought about just doing away with her already and using her soul to escape. After all, what's the life of one compared to the lives of an entire race?

Upon expressing this thought to her parents over dinner, not only did they outright shoot it down, they took time to ask her if she was okay. She appreciated the gesture, but it never erased the guilt she still felt. One would think Monster would be the only one to put it to rest, but it only intensified her feelings about the subject. Still, even so, she kept these feelings hidden, just in time for Monster to receive their mother's old video recorder as a present.

Frisk found out she had a bit of a taste for mischief. She wasn't horrible to her brother by any means, but boy did she love to tease and play a few pranks on the sibling in question. Being around other humans for so long, she had picked up a little trick beforehand with her face. It usually warded humans away, but with Monster, it only served to scare the crap out of her sibling. She'll be the one to admit it first: she wasn't the kindest when it came to those moments. She had once accidentally hurt her brother so hard, he had begun to cry, and yet she stood here howling with laughter. Asgore had pulled her aside to give her a talk about love and the treatment of others. Monster didn't seem to mind it much afterwards, however. He even tried to catch her a few times on camera.

Her brother wasn't much of a klutz, but he was definitely a forgetful one. She would laugh at him whenever he left the cap on the camera, causing most of their tapes to wind up black and unwatchable. Still, they kept them anyways, mostly for the audio. Their parents found them quite amusing, and the reminiscing they did whilst talking on tape. Eventually it became a sort of joke within the family. Every so often Monster would pop in with the camera taped to his head, telling everyone to smile. Instantly their parents would straighten up and smile widely before they noticed the cap had been left on. It always led to a fit of giggles and chortles. However, despite these happy times, it could never counteract one of their last tapes.

Once Monster had brought up the flowers when talking about their mother, she had a brilliant idea. It was an idea to be spoken off camera, of course. She could feel that long lasting guild fading as she explained the plan to her brother. Monster refused it outright, even getting to the point of tears when thinking of losing his sister. It actually made her soul ache at the sight. Still, she knew it was the only way her brother and her family to be free once again. This was her purpose.

This was why she was here.

They would do it together, they agreed. While Frisk may be gone in body, she would stay with Asriel in soul, helping him into the outside world and letting him see the world he dreamt of.

She loved her brother, and she was willing to do anything for him to be happy and free. The thoughts of being connected to him after death was one of the only comforts in this plan. Still, she couldn't help the tears that rolled down her face as she forced each flower into her mouth. That just couldn't be helped, but it would soon all be worth it.

Frisk loved her sibling more than words could describe.


	27. Day 27 - Mettalphys (Undertale)

Alphys hummed to herself softly, picking up her pencil to make a few more lines on the sketch, occasionally looking back up at the TV to get a glance at the tall, slim cartoon characternok screen. It was nice, but… it wasn't exactly what she was looking for. If she knew her friend, she knew he was a bit more picky than the average monster. She erased a few unsatisfactory features, letting out a sigh as she pressed play on the anime, deciding to just watch the rest of it before finishing the rough draft.

Just as she was getting into the epic fight scene, she heard something move somewhere. She paused the episode on her computer, still for a moment. Had she really just heard that? She stared at the direction of the noise in silence, listening closely. Sure enough, there was a bump in the upstairs lab where her bed was. Her soul sank for a moment as she stared up at the escalator. One of the amalgamates must have gotten loose, for that was her only explanation.

Steeling her nerves, she got up and grabbed a scoop of dog food in a cup, slowly making her way to the quickly moving escalator. He got on, her fear rising as she dreaded what she would find upstairs.

As soon as she reached the second floor, she looked around wildly for the culprit, but there was none to be seen. She wasn't fooled, though, since he amalgams were more than talented at disguising themselves as anything they wanted; she just needed to see which item had a copy. She began scouring the upper floor, looking for anything suspicious or out of place. She found it quicker than she though, however, because out of the blue, a book flew from the shelf. She screamed in momentary shock, watching the book float around instead of dropping, twirling in the air like it had been possessed by a- oh.

"Ooooh, Aaaalphyyyyyys!" the book sang in a mock-ominous cry. "When is my boooody reaaaaaady?" Alphys just dropped the cup with a relieved and tired sigh. "By god you s-scared me," she breathed. "Wh-what the heck is wrong with you?"

There was a laugh and the book dropped from the air. Soon enough, the familiar rectangular robot wheeled up the escalator, hands on his sides. "Sorry for the crude joke, darling," he chuckled, "but what else can I do when all you do is sit around watching your cartoons?" Alphys gave a little huff, bending down to sweep the spilt dogs food back into the cup. "I'll have you know that the cartoons I watch are strictly for research," she defended. "Uh huh," Mettaton spoke, unconvinced as he crossed his arms. "Alphys, hon, that may work for every monster under the ground, but the day I start falling for it, too is the day I no longer want to live." Alphys gave a grimace as she made her way back to the first floor. "Now now, I'm serious this time," she insisted, watching Mettaton follow her movements from the upper balcony.. "It's ideas for your new body, I swear. In fact, I'm almost done with it! I just need to plan out parts, and that's it."

She quickly threw the cup of dog food into the bag, scurrying back over to the desk to grab the sketchpad to show Mettaton. The robot was already making his way downstairs at that point, and casually glided over to the computer with crossed arms. Alphys took a look at the poor sketch she had made and instantly felt a bit embarrassed by it. Art looks great up until you show it to others. Still, she showed her friend the drawing, and he paused, taking he booklet into his hands. He stared at it for a while, and Alphys could immediately feel sweat begin trickle down her face within a mere minute.

"It looks great," the robot said simply, handing the sketchbook back. She looked dumbfounded at the comment; with how picky she knew Mettaton to be, it was a rarity for him to like something unless it was absolutely perfect. "Wait, really?" she asked, as if testing to see if this was some kind of joke he was playing again, despite jokes not exactly being his forte. "Five years we've known each other, darling," he replied. "I've expected you know enough about me to know what I like. However, it could use a bit of work on the shoulders. And the legs. I want them long. Very long." Alphys gave a quick nod and began jotting them all down with a slight smile, glad there was progress being made.

Mettaton looked over at the computer casually as he thought of more ideas. He was immediately drawn to the thin cartoon human paused in the air. It looked similar to the drawing he had just been shown. "Is this that 'research' you were on about, darling?" he asked, his curiosity at a small peak. Alphys looked up from her book and suddenly gave a large smile. "Y-yeah! That's Saru, an android with human features that has difficulty fitting in with human life! However, he finds a love of dancing, and it shows that- spoilers- just because he's a robot doesn't mean he can't feel or be happy and-"

"Alphys."

"S-sorry!" Alphys quickly apologized, a blush spread across her face. "Got a little carried away, huh? W-would you like to watch?" Mettaton turned his screen back to the lizard monster, silent for a moment. "Fine. I suppose I can watch a movie. Just this once."

Alphys gave a nervous laugh. "Uh…. It's not a movie," she explained. "It's a show. In fact, I'm on episode fifty-six, so there's a ways to go."

"Wait, someone made fifty-six episodes of this junk?"

"Aaaactually there's a hundred and sixty-two, but I swear it's really really good!"

"Alphys, I'm not watching a hundred and sixty-two episodes of your trash!" he exasperated, before letting out an exhale. "Just start from here, okay? I'll go as far of this."

It wasn't much, but Alphys would take what she could get, eagerly continuing to play the episode. She grabbed her unfinished cup of noodled, beginning to shovel a bundle of the pasta into her mouth in excitement at the episode. As it continued to play, it was clear Mettaton wasn't all that into it, mostly though his uncharacteristic silence. The show soon got to an exciting point, and Alphys was practically bouncing in her seat in excitement that the character finally got together with the human college professor.

"Alphys," Mettaton suddenly spoke up, catching her attention. "Hmm?" she hummed, thinking he was going to take the time to tell her how trashy the episode he was watching was. She heard it a million times before, and this would be no different.

"I know I don't say it often but…. Thank you," he told her, surprising her. "You're doing all this for me and… well, I'm not the most grateful of colleagues." There was a pause. "Thank you for helping me achieve my dreams."

Alphys was definitely taken aback, but couldn't help but smile as she felt her soul flutter at the rare occurrence. "Hey, we-we're friends, right? All I ask is that you don't forget me when you become famous," she giggled.

"Oh believe me, I won't, darling."

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"You know you don't have to pay me back by sticking through this, right," she told him.

"Oh thank god," he gasped, wheeling away almost immediately. "See you at my next show, darling!" She gave a small laugh. "I'll be in the front row, Metta," Alphys promised. With that out of the way, she went back to watching her anime by herself, but she knew she wasn't alone.


	28. Day 28 - Shyrablook (Undertale)

Napstablook hummed a soft tune to himself in rhythm to the music playing on his headphones as he went to feed the snails. He would occasionally mumble the words to himself whenever the his favorite parts began to play through the small speakers, but he wouldn't dare raise his voice any more than a mere whisper. He didn't want the snails to be annoyed with him like everyone else. He finished up the food, watching the snails begin to slowly make their way towards the bowls. With a satisfied nod, he made his way back home.

Just before he entered his home, he took a moment to stop in front of the neighboring pink home, gazing up at its towering structure that was miraculously symmetrical to his own. He did this often, taking only a few minutes to watch for any signs of life within the home. As usual, there was none. He had to remind himself once more that there would never be any to be seen. Happsta- ahem- Mettaton had better things to do than be held down by his incorporeal cousin. He let out a small sigh, noticing just now that the next song was on. He decided to just stop it for now; he wasn't in the mood

Napstablook glided back home, mumbling curses at himself for letting his hopes get up over nothing once again. He entered his house without real need to open the door; he was just glad the items in his inventory could be moved through the door as well. He fixed himself a ghost sandwich, enjoying it as he sat at the computer to check his Undernet profile. He didn't do much besides post his favorite ghost music, most of which was deemed uninteresting by everyone else. He didn't mind it too much, as it was mostly for himself anyways. He checked his dashboard, noting a few more CoolSkeleton95 posts about his own muscles. It gave him a small chuckle, rereading some of the messages before slowly moving on.

After a bit of scrolling, Napsta was surprised to realize he had an unread message waiting in his inbox. He blinked, feeling a hope rise within his soul, quickly clicking the small mail icon to see just what sort of message he had received.

"'Dear Napstablook,'" he read to himself. "'How would you like to easily draw in chicks by having a bigge- oh. It's an ad." He gave a small sigh, looking to the side for a moment. Still, he continued to read the message in its entirely. It was the first message he'd gotten in a while, so he might as well appreciate it, even if it was spam.

After that was done, he sat there for a moment, wondering what he should do at this point. All his chores were done and his profile had been checked, so he had some pretty good free time until then. He looked back at his cassette tapes of spooktune classics. Perhaps he should finish up on his music that he was working on. He didn't have much to do other than feel like trash, and he felt comfortable enough now that his only neighbor was separated by a thick wall of rock. He slid off his headphones, storing it in his inventory before pulling up the music program on his computer.

After his cousin left, Napsta had found himself finding comfort in his usual hobbies of listening to and finding music; he had even gotten inspired enough to make a bit of it. He didn't think any of it was good, though, but it wasn't like he was planning on letting to anyone listen to it anyways. He had made a few pieces in his spare time, but he was most proud of the one he was currently working on. It sounded a bit old school, but he had always been into a swing sort sound while his cousin loved pop. It was fitting, he supposed.

Napsta played the incomplete song, listening to the few flaws or rhythms that just fell flat and stopping it midway to fix them. By the next hour, he had gotten most of the previous problems out and already had ideas for the next few bars, deciding to escalate the tone of the song more before the beat would drop and lead into the bridge. He sat back to listed to the last few bars again, turning the music up so he could spot any missed flaws before moving on. He hummed along with the melody, feeling his spirits lift a bit more than usual at the faint bit of pride he felt for once in a rather long while. However, this time, he noticed a perceived flaw in the music he hadn't realized before. Well, it didn't sound like anything wrong, but there was definitely something there he didn't recognize. It was a soft sound, yet it seemed to flow well with the rhythm, constantly varying in tone. It took him a few seconds to realize they changes were actually words being formed. That was definitely strange. He had never added words to his music, nor did he plan to. They actually sounded pretty good along with his music, but it didn't take a mastermind to realize that the singing was coming from an outside source.

Not pausing the music, he moved away from his computer and over to his window, sticking his rounded head out the window and looking around cautiously. Within second, he spotted the culprit of the song near the snail farm, the singing indicating their direction. The voice sounded female. In fact, he even recognized the girl; it was Shyren, someone he hadn't seen since she had lost her sister. It was upsetting for sure, and his cousin had even reached out to her after the event, telling her they would get together and sing sometime, but she had become despondent right away. After Mettaton had left, he had done the same. At least he finally knew what she felt.

He stopped and watched, listening to her sing along to the song. She seemed really into it, singing down to the snails who swayed their slimy body in rhythm, supporting her voice. However, the song ended fairly quickly, and soon the song stopped altogether. She stood there for a moment, before moving to leave. She was surprised, however, to see Napstablook materialize in front of her. She squeaked, backing up on reflex, looking up at her former friend in confusion. Without her agent, she was much smaller, even smaller than him, in fact. She immediately looked down, her hair shrouding her face in a coy manner. "N-Napsta," she mumbled. "What are you d-doing here?"

"I live here," he responded just as quietly. "Was… that you singing?" Shyren somehow became more shy, a cyan coloring appearing over the front of her face as she covered her cheeks with her small fins. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled, looking away for an exit. "I-I'm sorry for disturbing you and your snails." She immediately made a dash for it, moving past him with a few more apologies as she attempted to leave.

"I didn't think it was that bad," Napsta said quickly, mentally cursing himself. She was obviously uncomfortable, so he was only making it even worse for her.

Shyren stopped in her tracks, looking back at him with a confused expression crossed over her face. "You… didn't?" she said softly. He hesitated, but nodded. "Yeah. I thought it sounded great, actually. I haven't heard you sing in a long time," he told her. "I… I forgot how good you sounded." She turned to face him, looking down, though she had a light smile. "Th-thank you," she mumbled gently. "Was that music coming from your house? What is it called?" she asked him. "I made it myself," he explained. "I started doing that a while back." She looked up at him with a wider smile, her bleary eyes displaying a coy kindness he hadn't realized he had missed. "Really? Wow, that sounded great!" she complimented. "You're really good at it, you know." That caused a smile to appear on Napstablook, the same shy feeling welling up in him as well.

"Thank you… would you like to come inside?" he offered, surprising the smaller monster. "For music, of course," he cleared up quickly. "Your singing was really good." Shyren didn't respond, looking puzzled. "Do you think… would you mind singing a bit more?" he asked. "You don't have to… it just sounded nice, is all."

Unexpectedly, Shyren smiled and gave a nod. "Yeah, that s-sounds great," she told him. "I would really like to h-hear more of your music." Napstablook levitated there for a moment, not sure what to do next. He hadn't actually expected her to say yes. He looked awkwardly at his house, before looking back at her. "This way, then," he told her, turning around and heading inside, Shyren following behind quickly.

The two shared a smile once the doors were closed. Something told the both of them that they would enjoy this time together.


	29. Day 29 - Undyrus (Underfell)

**Yeah yeah, I know I'm extremely late. I deeply apologize. Day 30 will be out soon. Have a bit of something going on. I originally finished this last night, but didn't post it until now.**

* * *

Papyrus tapped the eraser of his pencil on the table for a moment, taking a small portion of his time to rest his skull on his hand.

Papyrus was a strict monster, and thus abided by his own strict schedules. Every morning at five, he was getting himself ready and making sure everything was in order and make sure Doomfanger was fed, but it wasn't until six started the day off by waking his brother and making the two of them breakfast. He didn't care how much his brother complained or how bad his own food tasted, Sans still had to have something in his diet besides mustard and booze. An hour later on the dot, he would got to the sentry stations with his brother and go out on patrol. Despite the actual job not starting until eight, he liked to get out early just to make sure everyone was at their stations. The next of his nine hours were going back and forth between the sections of the Underground to make sure everything was in order and to check in with Undyne and Asgore. He made sure to return every exact hour to check up on Sans and make sure he wasn't slacking off or being fucked with by other monsters. Once the clock hit five, he returned home, would realize Sans wasn't there, and would go into Grillby's and soon storm out with his brother tucked under his arm. He would then make dinner, which Sans only ate if he was starved, and Papyrus himself almost never ate his own food. Yeah, you can guess that the fridge was stocked full of shitty lasagna. Sans would trudge up to his room to sleep the rest of the day away. The younger brother, however, would keep working on reports that he would receive and send into the king through email. That usually took up another few hours of his time, and he would spend another hour making plans for the next day. Papyrus would then spend the rest of his little night either watching Mettaton (which he would never admit to anyone), going online, petting and snuggling Doomfanger, or reading a book. Maybe if he was tired enough, he would get an hour or two of sleep, but even that was rare. The clock would come to five once again, and the day would start all over from the beginning.

"Hey bro," the smaller brother grunted, passing by slightly open doorway, causing the larger skeleton to jolt to life. He looked back at his brother, who had stopped to peer into the room. "You okay?" Sans inquired, raising his sockets at his younger sibling's unusually jerky movements. "What do you want?" Papyrus spat, attempting to raise his voice to hide the fact he had just been caught sleeping on his own work. Sans didn't answer, watching him for a few moments before just shrugging and walking off, pulling out his phone. The younger gave a tired sigh, looking down at the mountains of work in mild distress.

Every day would be the same, with the exception of Sunday, where Papyrus allowed one off day for Sans. This had been the schedule ever since Papyrus had taken Undyne's previous position as head of the Royal Guard. That was more than a year ago. Some would call the skeleton's rigorous, exhausting, and excessive, he couldn't see it any other way. He just didn't have the capacity sympathize with those who complained behind his back. Asgore wasn't objecting, even if Undyne had suggested several times that he lax on his policies. While he did take her advice into consideration, it was mostly pride that made him ignore her. Once Papyrus had defeated his former superior in battle, their relationship deteriorated in an instant, going from best friends to a very tense partnership. While the skeleton was prideful, he wasn't an idiot, and so Undyne remained as his second in command. Even still, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit paranoid at her power. He knew she was just waiting for the moment he would let his guard down. Despite that, he could recognize when he was being paranoid, but he just couldn't help but be put off by just how accepting she was of it all. While yes, she was still as competitive and bitter as all hell, she also hasn't made an attempt on his life, as he had expected she would.

Papyrus jerked again, hearing the doorbell ring loudly from downstairs. Probably one of Sans' friends, he assumed, since visitors for the younger sibling were rather rare. He sighed, deciding to let Sans take care of it. He didn't feel like walking right now, as absurd as that sounded. He was disappointed in himself, to say the least.

Even with so much on his plate, Papyrus made sure he kept it mostly to himself, with the exception of the occasional paperwork. It was mostly just a matter of appearing strong in front of the guard. After all, now that all eyes were on him, looks were everything, and appearing weak in front of all his peers and lower ranking coworkers was akin to a death sentence. Well, in his view, anyways. After being caught giving Lesser Dog a simple pet, his eligibility as a leader was questioned within seconds. Despite that, he had kept up his determination and bore through it all. He didn't need any criticizing or adulation from his peers to change his mind, and he was intent on keeping it that way. After all, he was the Great and Terrible Papyrus. If he let that idea slip for even a moment, he feared he would lose everything he ever worked for. Still, even with how hard he focused his time and effort on his job, it sometimes became too much, an example being his current situation. Lack of sleep and the expectations held by the Underground wasn't exactly doing wonders for his psyche.

A knock on his door sounded. Papyrus looked back questioningly. Usually Sans just opened the door without hesitation if he wanted his brother's attention. Had he finally learned manners? Papyrus let out a small chuckle at the thought. As if. Sans was more likely to switch his diet to ketchup than to ever learn any basic manners. "Come in," he called, keeping his voice firm and strong as always. To his surprise, it was Undyne who stepped, giving that snarky grin he had grown fond of over time. "Undyne? What do you want?" he demanded, maintaining the sturdy tone of his voice.

"So, is what Sans telling me actually true?" she inquired, stepping over to him and looking over the mound of papers. "The Great and Terrible Papyrus is actually tired for once?" Papyrus merely scoffed, crossing his arms at the very idea of his frame having limits of its own. "As if," he muttered, looking away from her. She wasted no time in flopping onto his bed with a grin, much to his mild annoyance. "Remind me to throw Sans out for tonight," he grumbled, though he knew he was only bluffing to himself.

"Need some help with all that?" she asked him, her grin turning to a smirk as she rested her head on a propped up hand. The response was an immediate "no" from the skeleton, obviously disgruntled by the question. It made her frown, watching the thinner guard turn back to his work as he struggled to hold back a yawn. "Your brother tells me you haven't been getting much sleep," she told him in an almost casual tone, as if she was just bringing up the idea just to start a conversation. Her boss quickly glanced over at her warningly. "My schedule is not my brother's business, nor is it yours," he huffed, looking back at his work and drumming his phalanges along the paper-riddled desk in light agitation. "If this is all you came to inquire about, then I suggest you leave."

"Even at home, you're still the biggest tight-ass," she told him, rolling her visible eye with a light smirk on display. Papyrus shot her a deathly glare, but it had no effect on her whatsoever, as she was already used to his threats, both verbal and nonverbal. "I get as much sleep as needed, thank you," he grumbled to her, folding his arms on the table.

"Well you should at least take the day off or something," she suggested, which might as well have been saying he should just hung himself now. "Not a possibility," he said simply, not moving from his position. He saw her get up and walk over from the corner of his vision, grabbing some of the papers. "Well then you should at least let me help out," she told him, looking through the surprisingly large amount of work. Asgore was really stacking up. However, she didn't get far, as the papers were quickly snatched away by an extremely angry looking Papyrus. "I don't need your help!" he hissed, slamming he work back onto his desk. "Now, I fervently suggest you remove yourself from my quarters, lest your demise will be imminent!"

Undyne's look of momentary surprise shifted into one of frustration and anger. "How about you calm your ass down?" she spat at him. "I'm trying to fucking help you, asshole. Why can't you just accept that?" Papyrus opened his mandible to retort, but he didn't get the chance, as Undyne wasn't done yet. She picked up the giant stack of papers. "Look at all this shit. Back when I was captain, even I couldn't finish all of this in one go." She dropped them. "So why do you have to act like a hard-ass twenty-four seven, huh? Though, I suppose you were always shit at taking hints, huh?"

"And that's what got me in your place to begin with, hmm?" he replied quickly, catching the fish off guard and causing her to grit her teeth. "Wow, Paps, you're really fucking pushing it," she growled through clenched fangs. In all fairness, Papyrus had expected her to storm our right there, or at least challenge him in some way. However, instead, he was surprised to find himself grabbed, lifted up, and thrown onto his bed. At first, he thought it was an attack and was preparing himself for a rebuttal despite his tired state, until a load of blankets was dumped over him. "Now you're gonna take a fucking nap for once in your life while I do a few of these," she told him, looking at the work. "A few?" he asked, sitting up in a dumbfounded state. "Well this is a lot of work," she told him, "and I'm tired as fuck. In fact…" She ran over and flopped into bed with him. "Just to make sure you're not trying to cheat your way out of eight hours of hardcore relaxation, I'm sleeping right here with you. Also because I'm not walking all the way back home."

"But the king," Papyrus protested. "If he finds out I've slacked off, he'll have my skull." Undyne merely scoffed at the notion. "Yeah right. Do you really think the king is going to slay the captain of the Royal Guard just because of a bit of paperwork? Trust me. The king gives a lot more leeway than you think. It's not like he's going anywhere after all." She gave a sigh. "Just stop worrying about work for once, will you? I know you love your job and how much you adore being a badass, but just chill for once. Trust me. I'm just here to help."

Papurus first thought about rejecting his friend's help. However, now that he was here, in bed, his body seemed to be shutting down. He decided to take Undyne's advice, which was a rather new settlement outside of the workplace. "Fine," he sighed, closing his sockets. "But, you do know we have a couch available, right?" He could hear Undyne chuckle. "I walked all the way over here from Waterfall. I'm fucking sleeping in your bed," she mumbled, sounding rather tired as well. This only seemed to pull him deeper into his growing tiredness. He would allow it for now, though this might require more private discussions later on.

That would surely be interesting.

And with that, he fell into a deep sleep.


	30. Day 30 - ? (Undertale)

**This concludes Shipping Pride Month. Thanks for sticking around.**

 **WARNING: There are hints of an abusive relationship in the story. Yu've been warned.**

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Sans sat on his mattress, listening silently as he could hear Papyrus humming a jovial tune, no doubt tidying up the house or doing a few chores. While he would usually take this time to silently appreciate his younger brother's help and responsibility, his mind had wandered onto something more worrying.

It was rare for Sans and Papyrus to talk about anything strictly personal. The smaller skeleton just found it hard to discuss his problems or worries with his siblings. Papyrus didn't ever complain about this, however, instead minding his own business and giving his brother all the space he needed. Sans couldn't exactly find out if this was a good thing or bad thing, as it meant that Papyrus would rarely talk about himself as well. It had taken a few months to even realize it, but the much larger skeleton just kept his mandible shut when asked about himself. As boastful and loud-mouthed as Sans knew him to be, he was uncharacteristically private about himself. Not even his computer had anything revealing, as Sans had found. It was a sort of trade off, he had realized, a form of quid pro quo; if Sans wasn't going to be open about himself to his sibling, Papyrus would be just as shut in. At first, he had been oblivious to it all, but the more he had begun to realize his brother's private nature, the more perturbed he became.

You see, Papyrus' secrets weren't just limited to thoughts and feelings, but also physical ones as well. Taking off that battle body of his was rarer than finding a diamond on the street. Sans had at first chalked it up to another one of his childish antics, but it wasn't until they began to interact that he noticed something. A single pat to the arm made Papyrus wince in pain. He would grit his teeth and look away for a slight moment, only to put up that boastful façade once again, but Sans caught it nonetheless. More tests of "accidentally" bumping into his brother or grabbing his arms showed the same result: there was always that brief glimmer of pain. He could feel his soul drop whenever he saw it. The only slight ray of hope he could really say was he knew someone was hurting him.

No, not someone, but something. You'd have to be a real top class asshole to purposely hurt his brother.

Papyrus had gotten into the hobby of going out lately; he was going out for a picnic, as he would say. He always packed a small container of spaghetti, some utensils, maybe a crossword or two, and he would leave for a few hours, not coming back until hours later with a change to his demeanor. His smiles were usually lessened. He usually went straight to the shower. The food was gone, but he was still hungry. He held himself as if cradling an injury. And, most of all, he looked entranced; struck even. His brother hummed happily despite the changes to his demeanor, mumbling to himself about a someone Sans didn't know. However, he wasn't going to take the unknown as an answer, even if he had to force it.

Papyrus had been more than reluctant, but Sans was was just as insistent. Just a peek was what he had promised. It would be nothing more than that. Still, the uncomfortable look across his baby bro's skull was more than soul crushing, but he needed to press forward. So they made a trade deal. Sans would tell Papyrus everything about his feelings. He knew the taller monster had sensed his distress about it for ages, and though it stressed him to just let all of his emotions out, his long-term depression weighing heavily on his mind, he still did it for Papyrus' sake. His brother was more than happy that he had finally opened up to him, and they shed a few tears of momentary grief, before he finally let Sans see.

It wasn't a pretty sight. Papyrus almost never removed his battle body in front of Sans, and now he knew the reason why. After removing the spandex he usually wore that gave his bones their black appearance, the marks were more than evident. Hundreds of small indentations and scratches littered his arms, the tiny mark almost reminding Sans of the dimples of a golf ball. The marks sunk in deep and there was a clear show that there was an attempt to heal them. The ribs and spine were worse; the entire cage was covered in small tiny cracks, the same sharp indentations appearing in his bones as they had in his arms. Sans was fighting back tears, already demanding his silent brother to tell him who did this. Papyrus refused, only allowing him to search his bones further.

The worst was the pelvis, or at least as much as Sans was allowed to see of it. Bad healing was more than unable to hide the fact that there had been much damage to that specific bone. Tiny cracks spidered around the pelvic inlet, dotted with more of those infuriating indentations. But the real kicker was the giant crack at the edge of his pelvis, indicating that something had absolutely snapped that part of his body in two, a complete break that would have left any skeleton screaming in agony for days. It was hard to look at, knowing someone had done this to his younger brother, who had said nothing about it until now.

Sans demanded to know who it was. He wanted to absolutely destroy them, but Papyrus refused to give up an identity. Even with tears running from sockets, not an name was given to the monster. Why was he defending someone who kept hurting him day after day? What was Sans doing wrong? They were kind, Papyrus insisted. Those marks were all accidents. This monster still loved the tall monster.

Unable to take it anymore, Sans just went to his room, sitting on his mattress and contemplating the situation at hand. His brother was dating an absolute monster, and he just didn't know what to do. He felt angry, blaming himself for Papyrus' turn of interest. He gritted his teeth in agony, listening to Papyrus hum happily, denying all the pain he was in for a façade of love.


End file.
